Back to France
by Anaman
Summary: characters: Coraline, Josef, Mick, Beth. Coraline is brought back to France where she meets "him". On the way to France, she remerbers things from her past. What will happen to her? to Mick? What will be the consequences for Mick and Beth?
1. Chapter 1

Back to France

**Beta:** Ancholia  
**A/N:** Hi, I'm new here and this is my very first fanfiction!! I had the idea by seeing the episode twelve, and my friend Ancholia told me to write it. I hope you'll like it!  
An other thing, English isn't my first langage so please be indulgent with me, and don't hesitate to tell me if there are any faults!  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own moonlight, coraline, beth, mick and lance are the propriate of cbs. Lady dubois (and the others) are mine.

**_Chapter 1 :_**

It was cold : the wind, the night and fear. Everything reminding that it could be the end, the really ending of a long life. She could feel the stake in her heart and she couldn't move. How could she escape this time?

Coraline was still in her brothers arms, who was taking her to _him_. Just thinking of him was a feeling worst than the stake in her heart. What could she tell to explain everything? She really was in love with Mick when she turned him, and still is. So she tried to repair the worst gift she gave him 52 years ago. There was nothing bad in that. That was love, true love that guide her to do that. She regretted nothing of all the things she made for Mick, because he is her soulmate… well that's what she was thinking. But many things had happened, and Beth could destroy everything.

«You will keep the stake till we come to Fontainebleau, sister.» Lance saw the look of Coraline and understood quickly that she was afraid. The three vampires were jumping from roof to roof. Lance and his compagnon were so fast that no one could see them. It was just a scary wind coming from them. After a few minutes, Lance stopped and said: « here we are, sister. We are going to take the boat. Just like in the past. Remember?»

Coraline wasn't listening. _How can I escape? I need help. Mick, I need you, Mick…_

Her eyes were heavy, the wind on her face, the smell of the sea, she could remember, yes that last happy day, a long time ago, in Paris when she was a young human…

--

« Miss Coraline, where are you? The Comte Delatour is waiting for you in the drawing room! Miss Coraline?»

« Yes, Cynthia, I'm coming!» _I hate this man. His smell is so disgusting. I think his hair is the worst! I'm sure he's having this awful wig since centuries…_

Coraline went to the drawing room wearing a white dress with small red flowers wich had a big purple velvetribbon around her waist and laces around her arms and her breasts. She hated having visits from men who wasn't good enough for her, and Comte Delatour was the most boring one. He tried many times to ask her hand, but her brothers were against. Hopefully, because she couldn't imagine herself being the wife of such an ugly man. And the most important, he wasn't rich enough to have her. That was the only thing that could give the consent of her six brothers.

Coraline opened the door, and Comte Delatour raised from his chair to salute her. _Oh my god, he has a new wig…_

« Miss Coraline, it's a pleasure to see such a beautiful young girl.»

« Thank you Comte Delatour. And what is the reason for your visit today? I have already told you that a marriage cannot be possible! So I hope it has nothing to do with that.»

« Oh no, I understood that I have no chance to have your heart. But I came to invite you to a private party at my house tonight. I know it's a late invitation, and I hope that you have no plans…»

" well, I am afraid I have some friends who will come and meet me tonight." _I hope that some friends are coming tonight! I just can't imagine myself going to a party with people who smell like him!_

" That's very sad. I would love to introduce you to a lady who come from the royal house. She heard about you and she would like to make your acquaintance."

"Really? What is her name?" _This can be interesting! Or it's just an another way to trap me!_

"It is Lady Dubois. She is a good friend of her majesty Marie de Médicis."

_Well that's interesting! Marie de Médicis… and her friend wants to meet me._ "Well, Comte Delatour, I just remerbered that my friends are coming tomorrow and not tonight. So I think that I can come and make the acquaintance of Lady Dubois."

"I'm really pleased to hear that! We'll wait for you at nine. Good bye."

"Yes good bye"

Coraline didn't see Comte Delatour leaving the drawing room. She was thinking of that Lady who wanted to meet her. _How does she know me? Why does she want to meet me?_ "Cynthia? Cynthia!" Cynthia was behind door where she stood and listened to the conversation. She waited a few time before she entered the room.

"Yes madam?"

"I need my most beautiful dress for tonight! I may have the opportunity to be in the royal court!"

"Yes, sure madam."

The carriage was approaching the house of Comte Delatour. There were many candels on the way to the door with red roses everywhere. There was some people coming in and going out of the house. Coraline got out of her carriage and walked to the door. A servant asked her name and repeated in a very loud voice her answer. She came to the mainroom and all the looks were upon her. Comte Delatour saw her at once and said "Miss Coraline, you look like a queen!" In fact she was: Coraline was wearing a wonderful red and gold dress which matched perfectly with her black hair curling on her nape. She had beautiful diamond earrings that showed how delicate and glamorous she was.

An attractive lady came close to Comte Delatour. She was blond in a violet velvetdress almost black. _Wow, she is so beautiful! And that look, it makes me feel scared and attracted at the same time._

"Miss Coraline, said Delatour, may I present you Lady Dubois?"

"I am really pleased to make your acquaintance, miss Coraline. I have heard so many things about you; particularly from Comte Delatour." _Well that's not surprising._

"The pleasure is for me, Lady Dubois. I'm very honoured." _and curious…_

"Comte Delatour, would you like to bring us some wine, please? I'm sure that miss Coraline would like to drink something". Coraline thought she saw a wink from Lady Dubois.

"Yes please." _I think she likes Delatour as much as me._

"Of course, my Lady!"

As Comte Delatour was going to search for wine, Lady Dubois took the arm of Coraline and guide her to another room, where there was less people. The room was very dark and the lights came from just three candels on a small table in the middle of the room. Along the wall, there were two dark green velvet couches where a woman and to men were sitting. They looked at Lady Dubois with desire and then at Coraline with a kind of envy she had never seen before. _Weird, they look at me just like they wanted to eat me. But Lady Dubois is for sure another kind of apetite._

"Please sit down Coraline. I would like to talk about something that could change your life."

_Directly to the point, I like it._

"Well I must confess that I came here tonight because I am very curious."

"And I am pleased to hear it. You may know that I am a good friend of the Queen, her majesty Marie de Médicis. I am a very particular type of friend and I am the only one to do the things I do for the queen._ I'm becoming more curious!_ Some months ago, she told me that she needed another woman to work with me, and that she wanted a young attractive one. _I am attractive!_ I must confess that in the castle, there are many promising girls, but they are not smart enough. _I am smart too!_ My servant told me that she has a cousin who works in Paris for an earl . She told me that he's name was Delatour and that he was deeply in love with a young girl that many men tried to marry because of her beauty, but no one succeeded. _And I am becoming famous…_ So I decided to meet her, well you Coraline. I have to admit that you are exactly what we were expecting and more. I am sure that the Queen would agree with me. So would you do me the honour of being a member of the Royal Court and be my partner for the Queen?"

_Well that was not what I was expecting!_

"I am very flattered, my Lady. I think I don't need to ask the permission of my brothers, and it will be an honour for me to be a member of the Royal Court. I can assure you that you won't be disappointed."

"I am sure of that. Oh Comte Delatour, here you are!"

"Yes and I have a glass of wine for the beautiful Coraline. I see that you became good friends!"

"Oh yes, we are going to be very close! Could you leave us, we have important things to discuss of."

"yes of course, my Lady."

As Delatour left the dark room, Coraline was trying to understand what happened to her. That was a wonderful; that would open many doors! She took the glass of wine and noticed that Lady Dubois had an another type of glass with something that looked like wine. _It's thicker than wine, maybe it's a better one. Or blood? No! Don't be stupid Coraline, people don't drink blood!_

**_Fin_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Beta: **Ancholia  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own CBS' characters.  
**A/N:** This is still about Coraline, and here we will know more about why she is who she is... I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 2:

_Blood… I can smell blood…_

Coraline opened her eyes. Lance was standing in front of her, holding the arm of a tall man with brown hair who looked deadscared.

"Lunch time, sister".

_I can't move… I'm so hungry_. Her eyes became blue and her fangs showed that she wanted fresh blood. She couldn't move because of the stake still in her heart.

Lance gave the man to his little servant and went to the starved vampire. Coraline was lying in a freezer. He took the stake away and in a wink she jumped on the human not even noticing that she was naked. She sucked the blood out of the man. She wasn't vulnerable any more: she could feel the fresh blood running through her veins that made her stronger. The taste of it in her mouth made her forget everything that happened before. She forgot where she was, only thinking of feeding. Coraline was draining him, she needed every drops from his body. The flesh was so sweet and tender; she was biting him with hunger and apetite. The man was no longer feeling excitation but it was hurting him. He could feel his own flesh between her fangs and how hard she sucked his blood. The young man felt life leaving his body, he saw that the wall in front of him was becoming more and more fuzzy and lost consciousness. When she was finished, she just let fall the dead body at her feet. She wasn't starving anymore and she could see where she was. That remembered her why she was here and where she was going. She took a gown and looked around.

Coraline was in a beautiful room on a huge yacht. It wasn't an ordinary room, the wood was everywhere, dark red and shining. There were white curtains and white carpet. The decoration was very simple but with taste. There were no pictures, only orchids and vases. Instead of beds, there were freezers. Not only one, but enough for having vampire guests on the boat, and one of them was the one where Coraline had slept in.

"So sister, if you're good, I can take you to the living room. But if you try to do anything, I will put the stake back in its place!"

"Please Lance, you know that _he_ will kill me. You know that I didn't do that against him. You know that I respect _him_ to much!"

"Don't use the pity-thing with me! I'm not like Henry, he's the good one, your sweet lovely brother. And that's the reason why I came here to get you. So don't even try to change my mind!"

Coraline began to feel really bad. _This is the end…_

"So what do you want to do? Do you want to stay here? There's no other place to go. We're in the ocean: no escape sister!" Lance was smiling.

"I want to be alone. I'll stay here."

Lance sent his servant to find sailors to take the dead body and destroy it. He looked at her and before he left the room, he said: "don't try to jump in the water, you know I hate swimming!"

Coraline sat on a little chair. She had never felt so lonely and despaired. She could remember the dream she just made before she woke up. She felt strange. _Why did I remember this time? It is so long time ago. _But _he_ came back in her mind. He was going to kill her! _He will never apologize for what I've made and the punition will be horrible. _Fear was becoming stronger and Coraline knew that she needed to think of what she would say to _him_. And for that, she needed some good rest. So she went to her freezer and lay down. The cold felt good on her skin but she was still feeling fear all over her body and mind. She closed her eyes and then saw candelabras, a sweet warm light…  
__

That's really something this place!

Coraline was going in a long corridor following Lady Dubois. Her meeting with her majesty Marie de Medicis had been unreal! She could still hear everything that she had said to her.

_I can see that Lady Dubois was right. You are_ _a beautiful young girl and I heard that you are especially smart. I assume that Lady Dubois hasn't told you what you are going to do for me. Well, we are leaving in a hard world for women. My son, Louis XIII, is a young man and I want him to be a good King. But there are things in politics that aren't made for men and they don't know that. I have the chance to have an easy position where I can still make decisions. But since I'm a woman, sometimes the ministers don't listen to my advices. So I use something that my ancestor Catherine de Medicis found out: I use women to trouble the mind of my ministers! _

_I see that it intrigues you, and I'm happy to see it. Well Lady Dubois is a kind of agent that I send to the ministers to change their mind and follow my decisions. And this is what you are going to do. Times are difficults in our country and more ministers try to change the laws. Lady Dubois is no more enough to do this work, so I need you to help her and change the mind of my ministers._

She didn't really understood how she would change the mind of old men who were also ministers! She had followed Lady Dubois and came to a wonderful room. She hadn't seen such room before. It was a beautiful place with many warm colours, flowers and even animals: a birdcage in the corner with many small red, green and yellow ones._ Wow that's impressive!_

"Welcome to my apartments, miss Coraline. Here is the room where I receive people. Usually this is where I have my friends and particularly where the marchands come. You'll see, you will have many new dresses!"

_A new life for me! No more Comte Delatour in my drawing room!_

"And here is my bedroom." Lady Dubois showed Coraline the place where she entered with wild opened eyes. It was a red room with red roses on tables near a huge bed. There were many small pictures on the wall but she couldn't see what was on. She heard a weird sound and turned to see a little monkey playing on a little chair.

"This is Rufeo, he always stays in my bedroom. He is a nice little friend and the ministers like him."

"Oh, so you don't receive them in the living room?"

"No, this is where they come. I will explain you later. But for now, we have to make you a new garderobe and I will show your one room."

They went out of the room and Coraline followed Lady Dubois to a door in front of her. Lady Dubois opened it and let Coraline come in. There was an other huge bed with white sheets and pink rosepetals on it. It smelt sweet. The walls were yellow and pink and the velvetcurtains were dark red. She could feel that this place was a real pleasure to stay in.

" It is the place where you will stay."

"I really like it. It's beautiful. Will the ministers come here too?"

"No, first you will be sent to their room. But if you do exactly what I tell you to do, they'll come very soon to your own room."

_Well I'm not sure what she meens, but I can't wait to see what I will do!_

A servant came in the livingroom and said that a Mister Foucault was here.

"Oh Coraline, we are going to choose your new dresses!"

_That's a good thing! New dresses!_

The two women sat on their coaches and they were watching all the wonderful materials Mister Foucault was showing them. There were cakes and tea on the table in the middle of the room, and Coraline was feeling like living in a dream. She just had to tell which cloth she liked and the man noted the command. Then people came to see how they could change her hair. They tried many differents grey, white or even pink wigs. First it looked weard and she thought that she began to look like Comte Delatour. But then Lady Dubois chose one that fitted her perfectly! She no more looked like a young girl but like a lady. _I like my new style, I'm more desirable…_

When Coraline got her new dresses, Lady Dubois teached her how to walk on her new shoes. They were very different from the one she had before: they were more fragile and higher. She teached her how to make up and choose the good parfums. Then they were walking in the gardens where Lady Dubois told her all about what happened in the country: she explained the economy, the army and the relations between the other countries. The good relations with some and the difficulties with the others. Coraline became known with all the society and political topics.

One evening, when she was thinking to go to bed, Lady Dubois came in the living the room and said:

"Coraline, I think it's time for you to see what will be your real job." _That was about time!_

"I am ready to hear what you have to say. But I'm not dressed, I was thinking to go to bed."

"You don't need a dress and I won't talk, Coraline. This time it will be some practise. Come with me in my room."

Coraline was feeling a little nervous. She wasn't quite sure what to expect. She came in the room, the sun was quite low in the horizon, so the light that came through the windows was gold and warm. Lady Dubois lighted up candles and told Coraline to sit down. Coraline went to a chair near the one where Rufeo was playing. She left the eyes and saw one of the pictures on the wall. First she saw romantic scenes where a man and a woman where lying in the nature. But then she saw that they were making love. The man was in erection and the woman was holding his penis. Coraline felt that she was blushing, but she had no time to look at something else because Lady Dubois, who was standing near the bed, opened the door. A young blond man, very handsome came in. Coraline raised from her chair, feeling very nervous. She heard that Lady Dubois was talking german to him. And after she had finished to speak, the man began to undress and went naked on the bed.

Lady Dubois came to Coraline and said slowly: "come here Coraline. I want you to look at his body."

Coraline felt the blood coming in her brain and felt very warm. she came near the bed where she saw the naked man. _Well he has a nice face. Finally a good looking man…_

"Coraline, I want you to come closer."

She obeyed and went closer. She was at the edge of the bed. She could see the man breathing on the bed. He said nothing and wasn't moving.

"I want you to discover the secrets of the male body. I want you to see how they react with the pleasure. Because, you have to know Coraline, that the pleasure is the key for everything. _So that's how the Queen change the mind of her ministers! That's pretty smart…_And when you'll know everything about it and all the ways to use it, you will be able to do everything with men! You will be powerful. _I like the idea. _Come on Coraline, touch him slowly."

Coraline sat her hand on the chest of the young man. She felt that his breathing went a little faster. Her eyes went down and she saw his penis. She first hesitated but then she let her hand go carefully down to it and began to caress it slowly. With surprise she saw that it went harder and stand proud. Her heart was beating faster and she was warm. she had never felt like this before and it felt good. She saw that the young man liked what she was doing.

Lady Dubois said nothing, she was standing near the window and saw her student discovering the secrets of the greatest pleasure. Coraline was still caressing his penis and she liked it. Then she turned to Lady Dubois looking at her like she was asking a permission. Lady Dubois understood what she wanted and nodded. Coraline took off her silkgown. She was completely naked. She wasn't cold because the pleasure made her warm. She was excited and she instantly knew what to do. She sat on the top of the man still caressing his penis. His was moaning. So she took the penis, she wanted to feel it inside her. It was hurting at the beginning, but then it felt good, really good. She moved in rhythm on him. She liked to feel him inside her. They were both moaning with pleasure. Her hands went on his chest, her nipples were hard and she was accelerating the rhythm. It was good, she felt very warm and went faster and faster and then the pleasure exploded. It was like a firework. That was an amazing feeling and she couldn't understand how she could have lived before that.

Lady Dubois, who was still in the room, was smiling. She was proud of her student and knew that Coraline was talented. Coraline got down from the bed and took her gown. Lady Dubois said something in german and the young man tok his clothes and left the room. Coraline knew that she wouldn't see him again, but that it wasn't the last time she would make love.

"I'm very proud of you Coraline. You're talented. I will teach you some few things, and you will be a real master."

That night, Coraline knew that she would like her new life. She was becoming someone with power and she enjoyed that. Power meant something new for her, a kind of hope. She was the only girl of six brothers, where they had all the power to decide what was good for her. For the first time, she felt that she would be the one who will make the decisions and she saw that men could be armless in front of women. She decided that she would take the power on men and use sex to succeed.

She looked at Lady Dubois and smiled to her. She saw that her master understood what she was thinking. And for the first time, she saw something strange in the way Lady Dubois looked at her. _It looks like her eyes changed their own colours… _


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **This one is about Coraline too; she's still on her way to France and keep having flash from her past. This time, it's about a real bad memory ;)  
The other characters come later, but they are in the story! I'm focusing know on Coraline so we'll understand what will happen next. I hope you'll enjoy it :)  
Oh, and I forgot to say, that all the characters from Coraline's past are true in the french history (not Lady Dubois).  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own CBS' characters...  
**Beta**: Ancholia

**Chapter 3**

Coraline opened her eyes. _This is really weird, why do I dream of my human past?_ At the same time, she noticed that the boat wasn't moving anymore. She opened the freezer and saw that they weren't no more in the middle of the ocean. The boat was near land.

"Hello sister. Did you sleep well? Use the comfort now, because we don't know what will expect you when we'll be in Fontainebleau! Ha ha."

"Were are we?"

"We are near the Azores. We have to stop a while. It won't be long"

The air was very hot and dry even on the sea. The sun was high in the sky and it wasn't a good thing for vampires. Coraline stood up and took the gown on her. She walked to the door, when Lance said:

"Don't even think of going out sister! The sun is at his top. Well if you want to die faster, just go ahaid! But I'm not sure it's quite a good idea."

"I'm hungry Lance, I need some blood."

"I was expecting it, so I sent one of my sailor to find some food for us."

He took a phone and give the order to bring them the freshies.

A minute after, three people came to the door. It wasn't usual freshies. This time it was victims! A young boy around 19 years old and to girls as old as him were in the room. Coraline noticed that they were surely beggars because of their clothes and she could smell that they hadn't seen a bathroom for years. She turned to Lance and looked at him with estonishment.

"I hadn't time to bring real freshies, so I ordered specials one. Don't make the I-don't-eat-poor-children thing! It may be work with your husband but not with me! I know that you've made worst in the past! And no one will notice that they are gone, they are beggars for god sake!."

The young people couldn't understand a word of english. They just looked at each other trying to know what they were doing here. They noticed that all the blinds were down so the sunlight couldn't get in and that strange boxes were in the room. The air was quite fresh and it felt good.

"Well they don't smell good, and I can't eat food that smells so bad! Leonard, say to the captain to give them a good shower and som food before they come back. I can't bear that smell anymore!"

Lance's servant told the sailor to bring the young people to the captain.

"Maybe do you want a shower too? There is a special shower down stairs for my guests."

"Yes thank you."

Coraline went down a stair that was in the back of the room. It led her to another spacious room in marble. There were gold mirrors with candles, white orchids everywhere. There was a wonderful shower in the middle of the room. The cabin had glasswalls and around it a beautiful white curtain that hang on a circle golden rod over the shower so the curtain could surround it. In a corner Coraline could see a wonderful bath in white porcelain very old fashion with gold feet. She almost forgot that she was on a boat, because this place remained her most a bathroom of a castle!

She got in the shower. The water on her skin, falling coldly was a great relief. She could finaly stop thinking of _him_ and free her mind. She let the water running through her dark hair and images ran in her mind…

Warm water, a presence in the bathroom, Mick. "Do you want something Mick?" He, …coming in the shower, …kissing her, …touching her left shoulder and discovering her mark. She was so happy then. He was back in her life: he had kissed her… his sweet, tender cold lips. _Oh Mick, I love you so, I need you so much…_

Now the water was cold again, she was a vampire again and she lost him again. The water running on her face was hiding her tears. She put her hand on her left shoulder and then felt the mark. In reality it was such a beautiful flower, delicate, many different colors. The blue one had so many meanings: kingdom, purity, kingblood… but this was an awful one. It had destroyed her sweet skin. Oh yes, it was a horrible flower and had not the same meaning. No, this one was a terrible punishment she had to bear her entire life.

The smell, the screamings, fear, that awful night, and all this because of thas man, that bastard…

--  
… He opened his eyes and saw her naked back, her shiny black hair. He smiled.

She had to go back to her apartment. She got up from the bed, looked back and saw that he was awake. _Shit_…

"Where are you going, my goddess?"

"I have to leave you, your Majesty."

"No, you don't have to. You know I am the cousin of the King."

_I know that! That's why I'm here…_ "I am very sorry, but I can't stay here. I am not allowed to stay in your room."

"You don't decide those things, my dear. So when I say you'll stay, you'll obey."

"Your Majesty is very kind to me and do me a great honour, but her Majesty the Queen wants me near her. You know that she has a bad health." _And I don't want to stay any longer here. I'm not your slave._

"If the Queen says so… But I'll be very disappointed."

"I will come to you an another night, your Majesty_. I don't care if you're disappointed. The most important thing is that you changed your mind about thewar against Italy and signed the paper to prove it._ And I will make all the things that you love me to do. _Like a good spanking!_

Coraline was dressing up and when she was finished and ready to say good bye, the man interrupted her: "I do hope so Coraline. I am very important here, you know. And I don't like to be disappointed, not at all. I hate it really!" _Well, you have to live with that…_

"I am very sorry. I hope I won't disappoint you again."

"No, I know you won't."

"Good night your Majesty."

"Yes, I'll try."

She shut the door and went to the corridor. The whole castle was asleep. She liked that time of the night where everything went silent. In a way, she was the queen of the place. She came to her apartment, and to her room.

It was now almost two years since Coraline had discovered the secrets of pleasure and the weakness of men. She knew that she was good, because only after one month the ministers came to her own room. But Prince Louis II de Bourbon-Condé, also known as Duc de Montmorency, was different.

The Queen Marie de Medicis had spoken of him some month ago. As Lady Dubois had been sent to England for a big case, involving the jewels of the Kings wife, and as the Prince Louis II de Bourbon-Condé was a problem for the war against Spain (he wanted to fight against Italy), the Queen needed to do something to stop him. It was Coraline, who had been sent to his bed. He couldn't be seen in her room, because it was a bad thing for his reputation, and the Queen wanted to keep everything silent. So it was her that had to go to him. He became quickly possessed by her and had sent many messengers. First she was flattered and kind of amused, but it became soon to much. She wanted to stop everything, but the Queen was against it. He hadn't signed the proof that showed that he agreed to change his mind. That night should be the last one. He had signed the papers and the Queen was satisfied. Coraline hoped that it was the last time she had to sleep with him.

The next day, Coraline stayed at her apartment. It was nice to have some time for herself, be quite and read. She went to the gardens to walk a while in the afternoon. There she had seen the Prince talking to the King. He had smiled to her, and the King saw her. She made a bow to salute the King, but he didn't noticed it. She went on but before that, she saw that the Prince gave a piece of paper to someone. Coraline hoped that he wasn't sending her a new messenger. She couldn't handle this anymore. But no one came, so she could go forward. In a way she was relieved.

Coraline hadn't met him after her walk in the garden. She thought that maybe the Prince understood that nothing would happened between them anymore. That night, after a diner with some friends, she went out her carriage to go to her room. Two men suddenly came out of nowhere and stood in front of her. They were soldiers followed by a secretary. She had never seen him before, and scared she asked :

"Who are you?"

"I am sent by the prefect, to take you, miss Coraline."

"What? No you can't! I'm here under the protection of the Queen!"

"You will have to follow us, or we will use force."

"You can't do this! Marie de Medecis, your Queen, is my guardian!"

"I have an order." He showed her a roll with the seal of the prefect.

The secretary looked at the two soldiers and with a wink from him, they understood what to do. Both men grabbed the arm of Coraline, tied up her hands and took her to an other carriage, less comfortable.

"Release me! No! Release me!" _What's happening?_ "Please, let me go!"

"Be quite, miss, we don't want to do any noise."

"Where are you driving me?"

"To the prefect."

"Now? in the middle of the night? Couldn't you just wait tomorrow morning?"

"No, the order is clear. You are going to be judged."

"WHAT? For what reason? I am not a criminal!"

"You will discuss it with the prefect. I'm just following the orders."

I can't believe it. This must be a nightmare. I have to send someone to the Queen. She is the only one who can help me. Damned, Lady Dubois is in England. She could have done something. Oh my god, what will happened!

The carriage was driving through the streets of Paris. Coraline was afraid and saw outside where everything was silent and asleep. Some people were sleeping in the streets, others were drunked and yelled, or dogs were barking. Then the carriage stopped. Men from the prefect's house came and took Coraline out of the carriage. Fear was in her eyes. They took her to the office where the prefect was waiting for her.

When she came in the office, she saw a man standing in front of a window, looking outside.

"Do you know why you are here, miss Coraline?"

"No, sir. That is the problem."

"You are accused by the King himself of prostitution." Still staying near the window, showing his back.

"Excuse-me, but there must be a mistake. I am under the protection of the Queen." Her heart was beating very fast.

"There are no mistakes. I have a letter signed by a man, who says that he saw you woo a man of the Royal Court. And the King signed as a witness.You are not only a member of the Royal Court, but a courtisan." The man wasn't longer looking outside, he turned to look straight in the eyes of Coraline. "And do you know what the King things about women and espacially courtisans?"

"No, I don't sir."

He began to walk from the window to his desk. He was short and very thin. His face showed no pity of any kind.

"Well, he received a good and serious catholic education from the Queen, the one you said to be your guardian. And according to the message of god, luxury is a sin! The King knows what women are capable of! Anyway, this is a very easy case. You are guilty of luxury, and your sentence will be: burned with the mark of the King!"

"NO! You can't do that, I want to speak to the Queen! I am asking for mercy! I AM A SUBJECT OF HER MAJESTY MARIE DE MEDICIS!"

"I am sorry for you, but this is very clear: this is an order from the King himself. I can show you it myself ."

He took the roll and showed the signatures to Coraline. She almost had a heart attack when she saw the two names: Prince Louis II de Bourbon-Condé and King Louis XIII. He was the one who managed all this! Only because she didn't want to spend one more night with him, he gave her the worst punishment! She could hear what he said the night before, " I won't disappoint you again. – No, I know you won't." Tears came, but she didn't want to show any weakness. This was a terrible thing that happened to her, but she had to hold herself.

"You see, you can't do anything." The prefect called his men. "Take this young woman with the others and do what you have to do. Here is the order." He gave the roll to the secretary.

Coraline was taken by two men by the rope around her hands and the secretary followed them. She began to feel very weak, she felt that she loosed all control on what happened. It was difficult to believe what just happened. Outside, she saw other girls, young street girls, who were accused of the same thing. Fear was on their faces. Coraline showed nothing, she stayed calm, very calm, but inside she was cold by fear, icecold. The girls were placed in a woodcarriage, and then drove to a another place, where the punishment waited for them.

Some girls were crying and that disgusted Coraline. She thought that they were too weak. On the other hand, she was now burning with anger against the one who made this to her. She just hoped that the Queen didn't know what was happening. The Queen couldn't agree for such things against her subjects, against women! She knew how life was difficult for women, so it wasn't possible that she let Coraline being punished!

The carriage stopped and the men took the girls from it and drove them to a square. Some people were there. There were allways people to see poor one being tortured. The secretary talked to a man with long hair and long beard; he told him that Coraline would be the first one. A fire was allready burning where a fleur de lys made of iron stood in the middle.

One of the men took her rope and pulled her to a pillar. Coraline tried to resist and screamed, but an other one came back and pushed her to the pillar. They lifted her hands up on the pillar and riped up her dress to relieve her left shoulder, her still screaming. She was full of hatred and anger, and the fear of the burning iron.

She couldn't escape, and the man standing in front of her was laughing. Oh, she hated men so much right now! She spit to him and waited to the pain. Those were the longest minutes in her life. But then she felt pain, huge pain. She felt her flesh burning and melting under the burning iron. That was horrible, unbearable and she screamed to let the pain, the anger and the hatred going out.

But the pain, the anger and the hatred remained. With days the pain was gone, but not the anger, and hatred neither.

_I will take revenge!_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: this is the last chapter with Coraline's flashback and this one is the most important for the story, you'll understand why :)  
After this one, we're really going to see what will happen to all the characters.  
I hope you'll enjoy it, and don't hesitate to leave comments. Thanks for those who left comments, it made me really happy as it's my first fiction :)  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own CBS' characters...

**CHAPTER 4**  
"Coraline! Food's here!"

She opened her eyes, breathing very fast. This bad memory had awaked an old feeling: revenge. Many years had passed, and she had had what she wanted. But hatred had remained ever since. Mick was a new born for her, but now everything was became just like before she met him.

She went naked in her gown upstairs, and saw the three beggars cleaned up, now looking scared at her. Lance and Leonard smelled at the two girls, and each took one. They suddenly began to scream as they saw their faces. They hadn't time to try to escape, for both Leonard and Lance jumped on their neck, biting them and sucking their blood out.

The young boy tried to escape, but Coraline went to him with vampire speed. She took his arm, her eyes glancing whiteblue, her fangs out. She whispered to him: "don't move sweety, I won't hurt you." She kissed slowly his neck, licked it. She felt that the young man began to calm down. One hand in his hair, the other one caressing his back, she knew how to do. He was scared, but he began to feel excited. She knew how to do to make them think that everything would be OK. She had made it so many times before, even with Mick.

The young man felt excited and kind of hypnotized: he didn't see what happened with the girls, he heard nothing. He just felt the touch of this woman. She looked scary, but she was touching him slowly, it felt good. Her hand in his hair was calming his heart, and he felt the other one going down. That was good, he liked it, wanted to kiss her, but he couldn't move. It was like if he was paralysed. Her smell, her touch… he closed his eyes.

Coraline felt that he was calm… and hard. She smiled with victory. He was completely hers. She opened slowly her mouth, licked him one more time, he moaned. Then she bit him hard, he opened in a flash his eyes, scared, knowing that death would be the only thing happening to him now. Blood, warm fresh blood from an excited man, damned it was good. She was so angry against her path, everything. She forgot that the young man was between her teeth. She drank his blood with anger, she wanted more, more. He was empty before she even noticed that he had fainted.

"Well, you're still very impressive, sister. Look at him."

She let the body fall on the floor, and looked at him.

"Look, Coraline, he's still hard! You're so evil! I wouldn't like to be at his place!" Lance laugh, and Leonard, who cast the young dead body on the floor, joined Lance and laugh.

"This is not funny Lance!"

"Oh yes it is. You're such a predator, and you know that. You just try to play a silly part for your husband. 'cause you're definitly _the_ vampire! The worst of the brotherhood! Damned, it's a pity _he_ will kill you."

Hearing those words, she remembered that she may have the same fate than this poor boy. Anger was replaced by fear. She looked outside, the boat was on the way to France. It was now night. She went outside, the fresh wind on her skin, the smell of the sea. Was it the last time she would see stars, the moon, its light?

Lance called men to take the bodies: "just cast them in the sea. The fishes will enjoy them."

"Don't go to far, Coraline. Anyway, there's nothing around us. Just the moon and the stars. Tomorrow, we should be near the french coast."

France. That was a long time ago she was there. Just like the first time she met _him_. She could remember everything just like if it was the day before. His meeting was the beginning of a long story, of a long new life as… a vampire.

--  
"Coraline, the Queen would like to see you."

Coraline was sitting on a coach in the livingroom, watching the emptiness with a dark look. She left her eyes up and saw Lady Dubois standing in front of her.

"I said that the Queen would like to see you. I'll be with you. Are you allright?"

Coraline looked at her and smiled. "Yes, I'm okay. When do we have to go and meet her?"

"Tonight. She has something important to say to you."

"Oh, did I do something wrong?"

"No, that's not that my dear. I just can tell you, that something new will happened to you. But you have to be presentable. This can be the beginning of a new thing."

"I'll do my best." _What does she talk about? I just hope they won't fire me, because of the mark…_

She went to her room. She was confused. It was now several month since that horrible night. She was still angry, espacially because she met a few times the Prince in the castle. She didn't look at him then, but she knew that he was smiling. She hated that, she wanted to kill him for what he had done to her. But she needed time to find out how and she knew she would.

She picked up a new dress that she had bought some weeks ago. It was the day after the return of Lady Dubois. She looked very bad that night. Coraline had tried to talk to her, but she went directly to her room and then left it again. It was only the day after, that she told her that she had an important mission, involving the King's wife. A rumor said that she had a lover in England and he had to come to France, in change for jewels. Lady Dubois told her that three men working for the King and his wife had stopped her before she could finish her work. One of them, a Dartagnan, had almost killed her. Coraline remembered that Lady Dubois had smiled, when she told about this man. It was a weird smile, a malicious one. She knew then that Lady Dubois and herself were the same kind of women.

Coraline had told her what happened with the Prince and Lady Dubois said that men wouldn't care about it. Coraline wondered how she could knew that, but in a way, Lady Dubois knew everything about women and espacially men. She wanted to tell her how bad she felt, all this anger inside herself, but she couldn't. How would she understand? So she kept it inside, and began to think of a plan to take revenge.

When she was finished with the dress, she came in the livingroom, where Lady Dubois was already sitting on a coach drinking this strange wine she use to drink.

"You're beautiful, Coraline. Well we're ready to meet the Queen."

They went threw the corridor that lead them to the Queen's apartment. Coraline knew the way by heart, all the lights, the candelabras, the mirors and the painting. She loved to look at them. They were mostly portraits of queens and kings. But their look had something strange. It was like if they were really looking at her, still alive. Sometimes, she had even thought that she had met them some nights in the castle. But she knew it was impossible.

A man opened the door for the two ladies. Coraline came first in. The Queen was sitting a her favorite chair. It wasn't an ordinary throne. It was a golden wooden chair with blue velvet on the seat. The feet were sculpted as if ivy and roses were growing on them. The back was very high and showed a woman biting a man in the neck. Coraline liked it very much, because she thought that it was so different from an ordinary queen's chair. This one was romantic and made her feel something special.

Coraline came many times in this room, because it was usually here that the Queen told her where she had to go and which minister she had to sleep with. So it wasn't a première for her. Anyway, she felt a little bit nervous. The Queen had been told about what happened to her. The day after, she had asked for her health. Coraline knew that the Queen had nothing to do with that, but her son had signed as a witness. The Queen had explained her that her son didn't know anything about what she was doing with her and Lady Dubois. So she couldn't take the risk to destroy everything by punishing her son. But she said that the Prince wouldn't be unpunished. The Queen didn't like that men hurt her girls, and she was really upset about what happened to Coraline.

"Coraline, I'm glad to see you."

"I am very glad to see you too, your Majesty. Lady Dubois told me that you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, indeed. You have to know that I'm very pleased for what you do for me and the country. You were a great help for us, espacially when Lady Dubois was in England. What happened to you was very sad, indeed. _I'll be sent home_… I wanted to show you my gratitude and say you "thank you". I will never regret the day Lady Dubois told me about you.

How is family going?"

"Well, my parents are very old, but they are well. And …"

"your brothers? Do you have brothers right?"

"Yes, you Majesty, I have six brothers. One of them, the youngest, is still home, taking care of our property. His name is Henri. An other is an attorney, a good one, it is François. I have three brothers here in Paris, Jean, Guillaume and Jacques. And the last one, Lancelot, is near Rouen. He works with ships made for the war, your Majesty. He works for the Royal Family."

"Lancelot? Yes I have heard from him. He's known for being very rude in business. And all of them has a good situation, I guess."

"Yes, they have, your Majesty. All of them have a noble title."

"I knew that you came from a noble family, and I am glad to hear that they still have a good situation. It is so difficult nowadays to meet goog french families."

"You are very kind your Majesty."

"Well, you can go now. Lady Dubois will stay. Thank you Coraline."

"Thank you, your Majesty."

As Coraline went to the door, she heard someone coming back from the Queen's chair. She turned and saw a man, an important one, because he was a clergyman: an archbishop. He was standing near the Queen and talk to her very quietly. Coraline could notice that the Queen had respect for him.

She had never seen him before, but she knew, from ministers she had slept with, that the Queen had a councillor and that he soon would be the King's prime minister. His name was Cardinal de Richelieu. He had surely power on the Queen, and it was the only man that had power on her.

She went to her apartment, thinking that it was a weird meeting with the Queen. It was the first time she asked about her brothers. Maybe the Queen wanted to be closer Coraline. Maybe she was really good and the Queen was happy. That might be her way to say thank you.

When she came to her room, she still thought about this Richelieu. He had something strange in his way to speak and to look at the Queen. The same strange things that she had noticed with Lady Dubois. At this time, Coraline didn't know that this man would be the most important man in her life, the one who would change everything.

After this meeting with the Queen, Coraline didn't hear much from her. Her burn became a scar that she tried to mask with powder. But even if she could cover it up, it was still acute in her heart and her mind.

One night after dinner and some games with members of the Royal Court, as she reached the door, a man suddenly opened it and went out. He jumped by surprise as he saw Coraline and looked directly down and ran to the corridor. It made her smile and she came in the livingroom.

"So is La Vieuville still ashamed to get out of here?"

"You know him too well, Coraline. He loves to come here, he enjoys to be treated like a bad boy, but then he runs home to his wife…"

Coraline and Lady Dubois laughed together.

"So, you haven't got ministers those last days, don't you?"

"No, not since…, well…, you know the …"

"Yes right."

Someone came in the room. "Miss Coraline, the Queen would like to see you right now."

"I'm coming."

"Here you are. A new little minister to take care of." Lady Dubois gave Coraline a wink as she went out the room.

Coraline followed the man to another place than usual. This time, he drove her to the king's wing. Coraline had been there a few times when she began to sleep with ministers. This place was completely different from the queen's wing. Here, the paintings were only about war and victories. The kings standing on their horses, proud, holding the flag of the french kingdom. She could feel the masculine force coming from them.

The man opened a door and let Coraline coming in. It was a dark room, with dark brown wood on the walls, blue curtains and a huge portrait of the pope. She didn't saw the Queen in the room, but in a corner, sitting on an armchair near to an open window, she could see the man she caught sight of last time she was with the Queen. She shivered because of the cold air in the room.

"Please sit down, miss Coraline." He showed her a chair in front of him. "We haven't been introduced before. My name is Richelieu, I am Cardinal de Richelieu. You are here, because I need someone trustworthy to do something important. The Queen told me that she had unlimited trust on you. So here you are."

Coraline didn't answer. She had nothing to say and waited that he explained the situation.

"I know everything about you and your family, how you came in the service of the Queen, which ministers came to you, and what the Prince did to you. Everything. I must know everything about the people who has to work for me. If you do things exactly as I tell you to do, I may give you the possibility to take revenge on the Prince and have even more power than you have. Are you ready?"

"Yes your Holiness."

"Our country is in a difficult position with England. The King's wife had an affair with a young english man, some times ago. He is still in love with her, and we tried to help him to come back to France, hoping that the situation would be better. The King has a special guard who protects him against everything, they are called the Musketeers. The Queen tries to put down her daughter-in-law, Anne d'Autriche, and take the power on her son. You remember who was the witness of the Prince, don't you? Well those Musketeers prevent us to help the young english lover to come to France. And we failed. Now, I want you to be a spy for me and listen how this guard was aware of what we did. They know already your friend, Lady Dubois, so she can't do it. Do you feel like you can do it?"

Coraline was speechless. That was a completely different job and this time it was in correlation with the king's business. But even though, she felt that she could do great things.

"Yes, your Holiness, I'll do my best. Where do I have to go? And when?"

Cardinal de Richelieu smiled:

"I know that the Musketeers are meeting tonight in town. In an inn called "Au bon vivant". I don't want you to get there in this dress. You have to change and look like an ordinary girl. Try to be very discret and listen carefully to what they say. I arranged things so our mole will go to them and tell them something that I attend to do. Just try to see who it is and come back. Be carefull. The Musketeers are three young men, but they have a new young recruit. Don't talk to them! Did you understand everything?"

"Yes your Holiness."

"Well I let you go. Come back here when you've finished."

--  
Wearing a grey and light brown dress, Coraline came in the "Au bon vivant". It was a shock for her: the smell coming from the inn was terrible. It was a mixture of beer, bad wine and filth coming from people. _I have never seen such place before._ She took a big breath and came in. There was noise all around her: men laughing, singing, talking loud. She discovered the place with surprise. There were large tables with 6-8 men around them, a big wooden candelabra in the middle of the place. On the tables were small candles hardly lighting the men around them.

Coraline tried to find the men she had to keep a watch on. Suddenly she heard a man yelling:

"D'Artagnan come here! There is bread and wine!"

_I recognize this name. It is the one that Lady Dubois had talked about, when she came back from England_. She went discreetly to the table, when a man took her by her waist and sat her on his knees.

"Hello beauty! Never seen you here before. What a delightful breast! Yummy!"

"Don't even think about it. Let me go sir."

"Oh oh, a little savage one. Love that."

"I said, let me go, right now."

"No I won't. I like you too much."

Coraline took his parts in her hand and pinched them very hard.

"I said, let me go."

"All right, all right!!"

D'Artagnan came this way at the same time, and asked her:

"Are you all right? Did he hurt you?"

Coraline didn't answer and went directly to the back of the room. D'Artagnan looked at her with an amused smile as she left him. When she reached the back of the place, she looked at the table where d'Artagnan was sitting near a man eating and drinking like an ogre. She discovered the Musketeers who were talking and laughing with d'Artagnan. _They seem nice men, but they are the ennemy. They work for the man who gave his agreement to destroy me_. She tried not to be discovered, and waited till the leak would come.

She waited not too long, before a young girl came in and went directly to the table where the Musketeers where sitting. She sat between d'Artagnan and the hungry one. At the same time, the men stopped talking and listened to the girl. _She is the leak!_

Coraline smiled with victory. But then she remarked that she knew this face. She tried to remember where she had seen it. _Of course! She is one of the young girls that serves the king's wife, Anne d'Autriche! That was how she knew what was happening. Anne must have known that her lover would come back to France. She didn't want her husband to discover it, so she sent that girl to the Musketeers. Well, now we have an advantage on them!_

As the girl left the table, Coraline remarked how she looked at d'Artagnan. _This girl is in love with him. I have to know how they know her, and how long this has lasted._

Then she saw that the barman was setting a plate with cheese and wine.

"Which table?" she asked.

"The table at the center. Wait, I don't kn…"

Before he could finish his sentence, she went to the table, that was the one where the Musketeers were sitting. She set the plate on it and went to an another one, but d'Artagnan took her arm.

"You're new here?"

"Yes I am, sir."

"I am no sir." The other musketeers laughed. One of them asked:

"And what is your name, sweet girl?"

"What is yours?" asked Coraline.

"Oh, you don't let yourself be persuaded! My name is Artemis. His is Porthos", he showed the hungry one. "This is Athos, and this young man…"

"My name is d'Artagnan. So what is yours?"

"My name is Louise."

"So sweet, Louise, when did you come here?"

"This is my first night."

"Don't you want to stay here with us?"

Coraline remembered that the Cardinal had forbidden her to talk to them.

"No I don't. I have to leave."

She went to the door. She had enough for the Cardinal; after all she knew who was the mole. And it was too risky. She was afraid to be discovered by the Musketeers and afraid of what could happened to her after.

But as she was outside, d'Artagnan ran to her.

"Wait! Don't leave us so quickly!"

"I can't stay longer. I have to go."

"Where? I can see that you're not from here. There is something in you that shows that you're not used to noise."

_Damned! He will soon see that I am from the castle_.

"You're right. I am from the country. The inns there don't have so many people inside."

"I know a place with less noise. Come with me."

"No, I can't." Then she thought, _I can find out how they have all their informations. Maybe there are other people than this girl. After all I know how to make men talk…_

"Please, come with me Louise."

"Well… alright. But I can't stay to long. I have to keep an eye on my sick uncle."

"No problem."

She followed him. They went through the streets. It was the middle of the night, and everything was silent. Those streets remembered her the night she had been burnt. This time she could also feel the smell of humid ground, urine and dirt. _This is really discusting. How can people live like that_.

They stopped at a little house. He opened the door and took her hand. Coraline followed him to a little room. There were white walls covered with lime. A single bed was under a little window with a little table near it. On the table were a book and a candle. Everything was very simple, and in a way it felt comfortable.

Coraline sat on the bed. She had to make him speak. D'Artagnan sat near her.

"Is it here you work and live?"

"Yes Louise. Well I live here, but I don't work here. This is where I practise."

"What do you practice?"

"Sword"

"Do you give lessons?"

"No. But I use it in my work. I need it to defend myself and… well people I have to protect." _Here we are…_

"Oh, this is nice."

He sat closer, and began to kiss her in the neck.

"You smell very good Louise."

_Oh god, he can discover everything…_

"No, not much. It must be the flowers in my uncle's room."

"Well, it must be nice flowers."

He put a hand on her leg and tried to go under her dress. Coraline let him do and lent to kiss him. She kissed him slowly and made him open his mouth. He could feel her warm tongue carressing his. His hand was going slowly on her tigh and kissed her in the neck. She let her hand going gently down his belt and carressed slowly before and she unbuttonned his trousers. _Ask him now, he's being hard…this is the moment…_

"Who are you protecting?"

D'Artagnan was moving slowly under the touch of Coraline. He moaned and then said:

"For the King." He kissed her with passion. She guide gently his head to her breasts that he kissed and licked.

"I guess that you have informations coming from the outside?"

She led his back on the bed and her head went to his open belt. She could see that he was hard. She licked slowly the top of his cock. He moaned deeply.

"Do you have someone who gives you informations?"

"mmh, yes… uh…a girl…"

She kept licking his cock and massaged it slowly with her hand.

"And somebody else?"

"No… only… her. She… mmh…uh…works for…for the Queen, Anne. Mmh your good. Keep doing that."

Coraline slid her tongue over his cock and licked his testicules. He groaned deeply. His hands gripped the sheets.

"Is the Queen knowing what you do?" One of her hand was massaging his cock, while the other one went slowly on his chest, clawing him a little.

"Oh…yes… yes she knows… she's against the king's mother… I want to be inside you!"

She could feel that he was close. She took her pants off and as she sat on him, he moaned. She began to move slowly. He groaned, she moved a little faster, and faster. He was close, closer. She made as she was moaning too, that made him even more excited. He put his hand on her waist, and moved with her, faster inside her. She felt suddenly that he came.

Coraline smiled with victory. She had what she wanted. She lied next to him and saw that he was smiling.

"Oh god, you're really good!" He was going to kiss her, but he felt asleep.

--  
Back to the castle, Coraline went directly to the Cardinal. A man was standing in front of the door. He looked at her, and before she said something, he opened the door.

The Cardinal was still on his armchair, sitting, this time, closer to the opened window. It was very cold this night, and Coraline felt as if she was outside. Richelieu didn't even looked at her and asked:

"So, do you have what I want?"

"Yes your Holiness. I know who is the mole. I hadn't to wait too long before it came in."

"Who is it?" He stared at her right in the eyes, with a bright glance in his.

"Well this is one of the young girl that hold company to the Queen Anne. I don't know her name, but I can show you her."

Coraline noticed that the Cardinal kind of smelt her.

"You have been with one of them, don't you?"

_How could he know that?_ "Yes, your Holiness. An occasion showed up to know more about this girl, and I can tell you everything. I was very carefull. I haven't stayed with all of them. You told me not to. I wouldn't take the risk to be discovered. So when I went out of the place, the youngest one followed me. He took me to his place, and it was the perfect time to have more informations."

Coraline could see that the Cardinal had a very small smile in the corner of his mouth.

"He told me that this is the Queen Anne that sends this girl to them. She wants to put off our Queen."

"Does he know your name?"

"He thinks that I am Louise. And don't be afraid, he won't remember a word he said. I just can say that he gave me those informations while he was lost in… something else." She smiled.

"Good. This is exactly what I wanted to hear. I am glad to see that you also took a personal initiative for knowing more about the mole. And that's impressive coming from such a young person. Well you can leave know."

Coraline left the room very satisfied of herself.

A week later, one night a man came to Coraline and told her that the Queen waited for her. She went to her apartments and came in. The Queen was sitting on her high throne and the Cardinal stayed near her. As they saw Coraline coming in, they both smiled to her.

The Queen began to talk:

"Coraline, I want you to go with Cardinal de Richelieu to the castle of Fontainebleau. You will stay there a week or two. You'll have a training there from Richelieu himself. It is an honorable gift, he gives you. I'll let him explain you everything.

A carriage is waiting for you both outside. You don't have to pack anything, you will have all what you need there. Now I let you leave with my dear friend and protector."

Coraline was sitting in the carriage near the Cardinal. She saw that he wasn't asleep, but his eyes were closed. Outside it was full moon. There were no clouds in the dark sky. Only the moon and the stars. Coraline liked to look at them at night. It was as if it was an other world out there.

The moonlight was lightning the shields. The air was fresh, Coraline's head was put on the carriage's window. Her mind went lost in the night, seeing the shadows of the trees and then lost in the moon, this white, round moon.

_What will happen now? _Before she could begin to think, the carriage stopped.

Coraline looked outside and saw a wonderful castle. The sky became lighter, it was early morning. Two men came running to the carriage to help Coraline and the Cardinal to get out.

"They will show you your room. Go to sleep, Coraline. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night your Holiness."

The next day, Coraline went out her room to find the Cardinal and try to know more about her training. She found no one in the castle, but only servants. She finaly asked one of them where she could find the Cardinal and he answered that he wasn't in the castle. She decided then to go a tour and discover the pleasure of this magnificient castle.

She went out and down the horseshoe staircase. There was a huge garden all around the castle. It was a beautiful day and the sun was high in the blue sky. She had a parasol to protect herself from the sun. As a noble, she had to protect herself from the brown marks. It was a pleasant place with fontains and small gardens.

The rest of the day, she tried to find things to do, but she began to feel bored. When the day became darker, she heard someone talking in an other room. She recognized a familiar voice. She went to the room and saw Lady Dubois in a wonderful red and black dress sitting on a couch.

"Here you are Coraline. What a pleasant place, don't you think?"

"Yes, sure. What are you doing here?"

"I asked her to come."

Coraline turned and saw Richelieu standing back her. She made a bow. "Your Holiness."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, your Holiness."

"Well, I told your friend to come here, because she will be a great help for us, for you. But before we begin, you have to know some few things."

Richelieu sat on an armchair in front of the couch where Lady Dubois was. The chairs and the couch were placed to make a square, with a table in the middle. Those were at the center of the room. Coraline sat on the other side of the couch. Richelieu asked all the servant to leave them, cleared his throat and said:

"First you have to know that you are here to become someone else. You are a very talented girl and you showed how a good spy you can be. Well I have already this woman with me, but she isn't enough. I need good spies to work for me, and so for our Queen.

What I am going to tell you now, may first surprise you, then scare you. But you have to know that what I am proposing you now, is the beginning of an other world where you will have all the power on humans. You will be in the capacity to take revenge on the one who burnt you, and do other things even greater."

Coraline was speechless. He had said enough to interest her: revenge. But what could scare her?

"The Queen told me about you some month ago already, but I needed to know you myself. We both agreed that it would be the best thing for you. I understand that you like to take risks, and this one must be the greatest!"

_What is he talking about?_ Coraline looked at Lady Dubois trying to see something that could help her to understand. Lady Dubois was just smiling at her.

"I see that you want to know, what I'm talking about, right?" she noded.

"Well, Coraline, I am not human. I am a vampire. _He must be kidding!_ This isn't a joke Coraline. I am very serious. _But the Queen, does she know?_ The Queen knows about what I am."

"Can you hear what I'm thinking?"

"Not completely, I feel how your heart is beating and how your blood flows in your veins. And it can tell now how you feel and think."

"So it isn't a joke, right?" Coraline became scared.

"No, it is not. As I said the Queen knows."

"Is she a vampire too?"

"No, not yet."

"What?"

"Yes, she will be a vampire too, but later. The tradition in the Royal Family, is to be turned after the Queen, and sometimes the King, has got children. Usually they wait till a certain age to be turned."

"You are telling me that the queens and the kings before Marie de Medicis and Louis XIII are still living and are vampires?"

"Yes, this is what I am telling you. As Lady Dubois as well. I should say Lady of Winter, or known as Milady, to be more correct."

"What? Is this right, my lady?"

"Yes Coraline. I am a vampire too. Lady Dubois is the name I use with the ministers. Lady of Winter is my real name, and Milady is my spyname."

"I can't believe this. Well I guess that explains the weird wine. Oh my god! Was it blood?"

Lady Dubois laughed, "Yes, it was blood."

"I need to think. This is too much! Why are you telling me all this?"

"Good question. I want you to be my spy as Milady for the eternity. I am from a very old generation of vampires that helps the french Royal Family. For that I need spies, and it is very difficult to find good one. I had only Milady from now, and I would like you to join us."

"I can't refuse, right? Or are you going to kill me?"

"No we won't kill you, Coraline." Lady Dubois was talking now, with a gently voice. "The Queen believes in you, as the Cardinal. This is a great honour. Being a vampire is like having a greater power than what you have. Think of all the things you will be able to do. As a vampire, your force will increase, you'll be able to smell things, feel what people thinks and more."

"But I'll have to suck blood from people, right?"

"Yes, but not necessary kill them. We have humans that are here to feed us. We call them 'freshies'. We don't kill them, it is a service that they provide us."

"Being a vampire, will allow you to come in the must powerful family in the world Coraline." Richelieu was now looking at Coraline in her eyes. "I give you the night and tomorrow to think of that. You will give us an answer tomorrow night. If you do agree, I'll give you all the informations you want to know about us. Is that okay for you?"

"Yes, I think it is."

Coraline couldn't sleep that night. There were too many questions running in her mind and she was also afraid that Lady Dubois or Richelieu would come in and drink her blood. Snatches of conversation came in her head and she tried to clarify her mind. _Being a vampire is like having a greater power… we call them freshies… not necessary kill them…allow you to come in the must powerful family… the Queen believes in you…_ Coraline fell finaly asleep and dreamt of blood, vampires and the Prince dead.

The next morning, Coraline was really tired, but things were clearer in her mind. She always wanted to be powerful, and vampirism could give her that. She would also be in the Royal Family for eternity and finaly have the chance to take revenge on the Prince.

She went outside and she understood now more things; she knew why the Cardinal and Lady Dubois wasn't there... _they can't go on daylight…_ but still, there were questions without answers. At the end of the day, she went to the same room than the day before and saw that Lady Dubois and Richelieu were already waiting for her.

"Hello Coraline. Did you sleep well?" Lady Dubois looked at Coraline with anxiety.

"Not very well, but good enough I guess." She stared at Lady Dubois, and discovered her again. She was more beautiful than she remerbered. She had something in her eyes, in the way she moved and talked that were specials. She remembered the very first night she had met her. _It is thanks to her that I have the life I have now._

"Did you take a decision, Coraline?" Richelieu was looking at her, said that with something grave in his voice.

"Yes, I have, your Holiness." Coraline could feel the tension in the air, now was the time to say what she really wanted. "I want to be a vampire and work for the Royal Family."

Lady Dubois rised from the couch, went to Coraline and took her in her ams. "I am so happy Coraline! I knew you would take the right decision."

"I am glad to hear it, Coraline. Come here and sit down. I have to explain how we will proceed."

Coraline sat close to Lady Dubois who were holding one of her hands.

"To be turned, you need a sire. The sire will be like a parent to you, a guide. The turning is a very important phase, so you have to be ready for it. The sire drinks first your blood and then, just before you die, he gives you his own blood. So it is as a vampire that you will come back to life."

"Does it hurt?"

"No, if the sire has experience, it doesn't hurt. Then there will be a time where you'll be very sensible. You'll feel very hungry, and both Lady Dubois and myself will be with you to help and feed you. You will have to stay some times at a distance from daylight, because direct sunlight can kill us. With time you'll be able to go out, but not the first weeks. Then you have to stay in a cold place. We, vampires, have to be in fresh and cold air. _Now I understand why his room was so cold!_ We have caves in this castle where you can rest the first days.

So, I think I told you everything. Of course I'll tell you more after the turning. With time you'll know everything about us."

"I have just one question."

"Yes?"

"Can a vampire be killed?"

"Yes, it can. Fire and decapitation are the ways to kill vampires."

"Oh, … okay."

"So, I will be your sire, Coraline and…"

Coraline looked at Lady Dubois surprised. "Is it not Lady Dubois who will turn me?"

"No, I'll be your sire. The tradition is that I turn the spies and my sire turns the queens and the kings."

"Is there a big difference?"

"Yes, there is. You have to know that I am a very old vampire. I am 500 years old. Lady Dubois is only 150. My sire is even older. The age gives also an extra power to the new vampire, and it is important that my spies are under my blood."

"I understand."

"I will turn you tomorrow night. Lady Dubois will show you the place where we'll do it and help you to bring some clothes there."

The next night, Coraline was in a little humid room. The walls were in dark grey stones, but anyway there were nice furnitures. Chairs like the ones in the livingroom, couches, a bed with white sheets and a garderobe. The only difference was that there weren't windows and paintings on the wall. Moreover, the room was very cold and Coraline was freezing.

As she waited Richelieu, Coraline was going from a chair to an other. Lady Dubois had told her that everything would be alright. Even though, she was a little nervous. _Will it hurt? Will I survive?_

She heard steps in the cold and humid corridor. Her heart was beating faster now. Lady Dubois came in first smiling to her, followed by Richelieu. He wasn't wearing his churchclothes, but a simple dark blue shirt and black trousers. Lady Dubois was also different, she was wearing a simple blue dress, like the one Coraline had to wear the night she was spying on the Musketeers.

"I can feel that you are very nervous. But don't be afraid. Everything will be alright. First I want you to calm down. Lady Dubois will stay here with you when I'm going to turn you.

So go on the bed Coraline, lay down and close your eyes. Think of something pleasant, something that you really like…_I like when I go all alone in the castle at night… the stars and the moon outside… the wind…all the castle just for me…_ Good Coraline, keep thinking, your heart is going to beat slower." _the night… the sound of silence…_

Richelieu was sitting next to her, he felt that her heart was now beating slowly. Lady Dubois was on the other side of the bed. She saw that Richelieu was now over Coraline. His eyes became iceblue, his fangs out. He smelt her and then went closer to Coraline's neck.

Coraline felt Richelieu's breathing. She knew that he was very close to her, she wasn't afraid anymore. Lady Dubois was here to protect her. She was thinking of the night and waited to feel Richelieu's fangs on her neck.

He lent to her and slowly bite her neck. _He bites me now… my blood, I feel my blood sucked by him…_ She opened her eyes. It wasn't hurting her, but the feeling was strange: she could feel a small pain and at the same time, a kind of pleasure, like the one when she was making love. Yes she was excited. She was surprised to hear herself moaning. _The way he sucks my blood, his mouth, it is so good…_ She felt weaker and at the same time she was closer to the orgasm. Just before she felt the climax of the orgasm, she saw Richelieu stopping and with his nail he made a wound on his chest that had the form of a cross, and from where the blood came out.

"Drink it, Coraline." Said Lady Dubois.

Richelieu led Coraline's head to his open wound. Some drops fell on her lips, she licked them. The effect was instantaneous, her mouth went on the wound and Coraline sucked the blood. She drank the most possible and then felt very tired.

_I can feel blood, my body is cold, the fresh air on my skin…_

Coraline opened her eyes, they were ice-blue. _I'm hungry…_ She smelt the air and felt something new… blood. Lady Dubois was standing near the door with a young man, a freshy. She stared at Coraline who was now standing next to the bed. Her white gown war recovered with blood, her eyes were glancing and her fangs out. Lady Dubois could feel something powerful that emanated from her. She was beautiful and scary at the same time.

She saw the man, smelt him. _I like his smell, it is delicious… like something I can eat… that must be how the humans smell… I want his blood!_

She came to the man in a way that was almost floating in the air. He was completely captivated by her. She put a hand back his head. Coraline was now between the man and Lady Dubois. She looked at Lady Dubois and smiled, then she opened her mouth and sucked with apetite the blood out.

Lady Dubois saw something that she never had seen before; the perfect predator.

"She is incredible, isn't she?" Richelieu was coming in the room looking with pleasure at his new vampire.

"Yes she is. But she can be very dangerous. I have to stop her, she'll kill him!"

"No, Milady, let her do. She has to know how it feels. This will be very interesting." Richelieu smiled as he saw Coraline droping the body without looking at it. She had some blood in the corner of her mouth. She took it away with two fingers, licked them, and smiled as she looked at Lady Dubois and Richelieu.

"A beautiful killer is born."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: There we are! Coraline is in Fontainebleau to see what will happen to her! There will be surprises for her and for Josef :)  
**Important**: I really need a beta for the english grammar. My beta Ancholia helps me with the story and neither her nor me are english, so let me know if some of you are interested to help me, thanks :)

**Chapter 5**

Coraline opened suddenly her eyes, it wasn't a nightmare, she had dreamt of her turning, and the old feeling of a new turning vampire had awaked old feelings. _Those dreams are very odd. I don't understand why I keep dreaming of my past…_

She noticed the daylight from her freezer. She opened it and went out. Lance and Leonard were already up.

"You look terrible sister! Good news anyway. We are back in France. A car is waiting for us outside. We don't have time to waste, so come on."

They went out of the yacht. Coraline recognized the town. The boat had droven on the Seine to Rouen. She knew very well this place: that was where Lance had begun his business. A black limo with dark glasses waited for them under the rain. They sat in and the car begin to drive.

Inside it was very cold, the air-conditioning was on and the dark windows prevented from the sunlight. Lance took a glass of blood and gave an another one to Leonard. He looked at Coraline and wanted to say something, but instead he just smiled. Coraline stared outside and looked at the landscape from the road. She had missed those french roads and the french country. Now the only thing that was in her mind, was her future meeting with her sire. In three hours she would be in Fontainebleau.

--  
His viper stopped and he went on the horseshoe staircase to the castle. It was the first time he came here, but Coraline had told him how it was. Someone opened the door and he told the man that he was here to speak to Richelieu.

In the entrance hall, he saw the beautiful decorations. It was so typical french all those fournitures, he thought and that he never had liked it. A woman came to him and asked to follow her. It was a huge castle and he knew that Fontainebleau was one of the famest in France. Not surprising that it was the place where Richelieu stayed. He looked at the woman in front of him, _what a beautiful ass, too bad she's a vampire, I would have loved to taste her blood._

She opened a door and let him get in. Richelieu was sitting on a chair back a desk, reading papers.

"Business?"

"Here you are mister Konstan! Please sit down. What a pleasure to see you in France. I guess it is the first time you are in Fontainebleau?"

"Yes it is. I left Europe a long time ago. Well you know, since my sire died."

"Yes, it was a great loss for all of us. I knew your sire very well, we were friends indeed."

"Well, that's why I'm here."

"Oh, I am quite curious for your visit, I have to say. So tell me why you came here?"

"I know that you sent Lance to take Coraline back here. I know what she's done and what you are going to do with her. I don't say she doesn't deserve it, but I'm sure there is an other way to punish her."

Richelieu put the papers back on the desk and looked at Josef. He took a pause and smiled before he answered him.

"What make you think that I am going to take your advice?"

"It's not an advice. I know what my sire did to help you, and it was one of the reasons of his death. You had a debt to him, and since he died, the debt comes to me. So as a favour in exchange for the debt, I ask you or any of your men not to kill Coraline and not hurt her. And by that I also mean, not to set a price on her head either."

"Well, well, well. It is right that I have a debt to your sire, and now to you. He did something very important for me. I know that you are a man of honour and so am I, so I will do you this favour. But can I ask you why?"

"It is between Coraline and I." Josef answered with a little smile.

"Alright. So I guess we have a deal. I promise you I won't kill Coraline or hurt her."

"Thank you very much, it makes us equal now."

"Yes. Do you want to drink some blood? I have a wonderful new freshy, she's delicious."

"Why not? Thank you."

"Agnès?"

The woman, who had brought Josef came in.

"Can you bring us Anna, please?"

"Yes sir."

"Anna is German, you'll love her!"

Josef liked that kind of vampire and he missed it in L.A. The old generation knew how to receive their own kind. He wished he could do that more often with Mick, but since he had saved Beth as a child, Mick had became such a mess.

A young blond girl came in. Josef smelled her and smiled. He made a sign to her and she came closer.

"I just ask you, mister Konstan, to bit her on the arm. We don't like the marks on their neck."

"It isn't a problem. Do you want some, before I begin?"

"No thank you mister Konstan. I'll have my own freshy later."

Josef tok the arm of the young girl, smelled it, licked it and then bit it with sweetness. The girl moaned with pleasure. Josef knew that he couldn't drink to much, that wouldn't be appropriate, especially in such a place. He took some mouthful and let the arm of the girl, who was completely lost in pleasure.

"You were right, she's delicious!"

"My pleasure mister Konstan."

"I don't want to be rude, but I have to go. My plane is waiting for me."

"I understand. But before you left, I just want to tell you, that I am no fool mister Konstan. I know that you are the friend of Coraline's husband. And even if there was something between Coraline and you, it won't help him. He is in our family."

Josef looked at Richelieu with anxiety. "Mick is no danger to you."

"I know that, but we are a danger to him." Richelieu smiled and gave a nice look to Josef to calm him.

"Agnès, can you show mister Konstan the way back? Good bye and have a nice trip."

"Good bye."

As Josef left the place, he began to think of the situation in an other way. He would have to talk to Mick when he'll be back in L.A, because he would be the one in danger, no longer Coraline.

--  
The limo came in front of the castle and Coraline saw an other car leaving the place. She was afraid, her hands were colder than usual, her lips too. _I have to stay calm and not show him any fear. I know he hates that._

Lance and Leonard went out of the car first. A handsome dark haired man came to them smiling.

"Is she here?"

"Yes, she is in the car, François."

"You made a great job Lancelot."

"Don't call me Lancelot! You know I hate that name!"

"Well it's still your name." François smiled and came closer to the car to catch Coraline.

Lance looked furious and Coraline noticed it as she went out of the limo. There always had a kind of rivalry between them, but François was the oldest and Lance had to show him respect.

"Bonjour Coraline, comment vas-tu?"

"I'm fine François."

"You prefer to speak in english? Still against us I guess. Anyway, it's a long time ago. He's waiting for you. We all are waiting for you, I should say."

They went in the castle to livingroom. It was a big room with a piano, a harp, a cello, to large sofas and armchairs. Coraline saw that the place hadn't change in centuries, it was still in the same style than the first time she was there.

Going in the corridor remembered her the first night she came here. It was so strange. When she came in the room she saw all her brothers were waiting for her.

"Coraline, so here you are!" said Henri with a happy smile on his face.

"Don't be too kind with her, Henri. Remember why she's here."

"Always the one to do as she wants! You always needed to put youself forwards!"

"And you would be nothing without me Guillaume, remember that!". Coraline never liked Guillaume. He was, with Jean and Jacques the three stupid ones. They were nothing before she became a vampire, they just had the name and its honour.

As she sat on a couch, she could remember how they met Richelieu thanks to her. Especially the very night where Richelieu turned them. He wanted that her whole family should become vampires. The parents were too old, but not the brothers, and Richelieu thought that they would be very helpful for him. Lance was very important in the war and François was a brilliant attorney. Since he couldn't turn just two of them, he chose to turn them all. That happened after a dinner where her brothers drank very much. Lady Dubois sat with François and Lance, Guillaume, Jean and Jacques were touching under the dresses of three other vampires, without knowing what they were. Henri was the only one talking with Coraline. At the end of the dinner Richelieu had just declared them, that he could give them an eternal and rich life. They all agreed except Henri. Coraline liked Henri very much, he was a philosopher, and she was the one who made him accept the turning. But she regretted it, because she knew he wasn't happy and Mick had reminded her her brother in his way to reject eternal life. The same night they went to different rooms downstairs, where she had been turned, and Richelieu came to them, one by one, and turned them. That night, Richelieu let Coraline turn her own servant Cynthia into a vampire too, and it was where she began to feel closer to Coraline than ever before.

"Don't be afraid, Coraline, I'm sure he'll understand."

Coraline lifted her eyes, Henri was sitting next to her, holding her hand.

"You were in love, he'll understand."

"I'm not that sure, Henri. She messed it up! She did everything without our consent and especially without his!"

"Shut up, Jacques. She is a free woman. She doesn't need us, and she's right: it is thanks to her that you, that we all are immortals!"

Agnès came in the room and went to François. She said something in his ears and then went out.

"Well, brothers, …sister, our father is waiting for us. Coraline, I let you go ahead. After all, we're all here because of you."

Coraline followed Agnès, and she knew exactly where they were going: to the "judgingroom". It was a cold, dark place with a large table. In front of the table was a lonely chair, where the accused ones had to sit and face their juges. This was the chair that belonged to Coraline tonight.

She came in the room and sat on the chair. Her brothers went to the table, sat and left the middle chair free. Then Richelieu came in, Coraline stood up, feeling very nervous. It was the first time since a long time, she hadn't seen him. He sat on his chair, and only then he looked at her.

"Coraline, sit down. It isn't really how I wanted to see you again, but you decided it in an other way. Do you know why you are here?"

Coraline looked at him straight in the eyes. She wasn't afraid anymore, she knew that she was strong, and she regretted nothing.

"Yes, I'm here because of what I've made some years ago, and…"

"Right. You married a human without my consent Coraline! You acted like a little stupid girl! I don't recognize the killer, the spy who worked for me some centuries ago. Do you have something to say for your defense?"

"No, I don't need to be forgiving for loving him so much." Coraline was very moved as she said that, because it remembered her of a song of Leonard Cohen, that she liked to listen when she was with Mick, when he was still a human, when she was happy then.

"I assure you that you won't be easily forgiven, my dear! Then there is the compound! How could you do that to us?"

Coraline had nothing to say, they would never understand why she did that.

"Well I was thinking of a special punishment for you. Coraline, what you've made was both a betrayal and a threat to all of us. But things happened before you came, and it changed my punishment…"

"What?" Lance stood up and looked completely surprised. "All this for nothing? I went to the united states to find her, I thought that she would, at least, have a good threat!"

"Yes, I agree with Lance, she deserves death!" Guillaume stood up too.

Coraline didn't understand what happened. She was so sure that Richelieu would have killed her or tortured her. The brothers were argueing, then François said:

"Shut up! Our father knows better what to do. Lancelot, don't speak like that and learn to show respect, for god sake! Coraline will be punished, so let us listen to what he has to say."

"Thank you François. You have right, I do have a special punishment for Coraline, but this will be between her and me. So I ask you to leave, in silence, and Coraline, you'll come with me to my bureau."

The brothers left the room and Coraline saw that Guillaume, Jean and Jacques were completely shocked. Henri came in front of her and said low:

"I told you he would understand."

He was happy and relieved for his sister, but Coraline knew that it wasn't normal. Richelieu must had something very important and dangerous for her to do.

She went to the bureau, where Richelieu was already sitting at his desk.

"Sit down, Coraline."

_Someone has been here, a vampire, I know this smell…_

"As I told you in the 'judgingroom' someone came here and made me change my mind. Anyway, what you did was completely wrong and I am very disapointed. So you won't be unpunished. I want you to do something, and this time you will obey. Right?"

Coraline nodded.

"I can't understand why you did that, why you turned this human without my consent! He's not even a noble! He's nothing!"

"That's why!"

"Oh yes, I forgot, you still hate noble men. But I thought that after the Prince died, after you killed him, you felt better…"

Coraline looked down. Yes she had had her revenge, and it felt good then. She had went to his room that night she came back to Paris as a vampire. He had looked at her with a smile that meant many things and it had disgusted her. He had came to kiss her, with a hand going slowly under her dress. He was already hard, just by seing her. She felt so angry, that she changed into a vampire in a sudden. She bet his neck and he screamed. She pulled him on his bed and with her fingers she clawed his face with anger and furry. His face was awful and his eyes were terrified. At the end, she took from her dress a little knife and said:

"I won't drink your blood, you're so disgusting. But you'll die for what you did to me."

Then she cut his throat and licked the knife. She had looked at him until his heart went silent.

"Coraline, you were such a wonderful vampire. How could you do that? Well anyway, it's too late. So here what you're going to do."

Coraline lifted her face and looked at him.

"I want you to go back to L.A. There you will find your husband, and I want you to bring him here."

"What? no!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: First I want to thank moonlightaddict for your great review, it made me so happy!! Then, about this chapter, we are back in L.A, so I let you see what is happening!!

**  
Chapter 6**

"We should land in New York in 8 hours to full the plane with fuel and then fly forward to L.A. We should be there tomorrow night."

The plane was high in the blue sky. All the windows were blackcovered. There were a freezer and some comfortable white leather-armchairs. The lights were on, which gave a subdued light. A stewart came with a glass of blood; Coraline took it. She was confused; for the first time in her life, she didn't know what to do and remembered what Richelieu had told her.

_"What? No!"_

_"Yes, Coraline, you know, you don't have any choice! I want you to bring your husband back. I give you one month at the latest."_

_"I can't do that!"_

_"Of course you can and you will. You are the only woman I know who can disturb the mind of men. You have a gift. He will follow you everywhere. If you fail, I have other plans for you, but I am sure that you won't like them."_

_"I don't want you to kill him."_

_"You don't decide for me and you have nothing to say now after what you did. You know that I wanted to kill you, Coraline. Remember what happened with your old friend Lady Dubois? Well you were destined for the same thing! But you have a friend who, obviously, like you so much that he saved you from a terrible death. So don't begin to discuss of your husband's fate! A jet is waiting for you. You will leave tonight and I want you to inform me everyday! Do you understand me Coraline?"_

_"Yes, father."_

_"Good, leave now and don't come back here alone or your friend won't be able to save you one more time."_

How would she come back to Mick after what happened? He saw Lance taking her. She had to think of a story to explain her come back. But before that, she had to go to the one who just saved her. She would have to be careful with him; he was everything but not stupid. She had to find a way to distract him from her objective, no matter what it would cost her or him.

--  
It was dark in the huge apartment and he was alone, sitting at his desk. Business was unfortunatly at day, and the night was for fun. He had sent his freshies back after feeding, and now was wondering where to go. He had tried to talk to Mick, but since he turned back into a vampire, Josef knew that his friend needed some time alone. He would try to tell him about the danger later in the week.

But then he heard some footsteps in the corridor till he saw a very familiar figure coming.

"What a surprise!"

"Hi Josef."

"Hi Coraline. Good to see you."

"Yeah, it's good to be alive, thanks to you."

Coraline came closer to the table in the middle of the room. Josef went slowly to her, smiling. They were looking at each other, without saying anything. The words were in their eyes giving them the memory of their very first meeting.

November 1864, New York. A party was giving for the re-election of the president Lincoln. Coraline was going through the mass of people dancing and singing. Blue-white-red streamers were hanging on the walls, lights everywhere and music. It was defenitly a party for a great victory.

Coraline had left France some month ago after the death of Lady Dubois. She hadn't forgiven Richelieu and her brothers who decided to kill her, because she had turned a man without their conscent. She had met som days ago a vampire, Cordelia, who reminded her of Lady Dubois. She had long red hair and was beautiful.

"Coraline, I'm here!" Cordelia was with a man, also a vampire, a good looking one.

"Hey, I want you to meet someone. Coraline, this is Josef Konstan. He's from Europe too."

"Hello, nice to meet you. I heard that you're from France."

"Yes, from Paris actually."

"Paris, I really hate this place. The Royal french family is made of freaky people."

Cordelia and Josef laughed.

"I beg your pardon? And who are you to speak of the Royal family like this? Where are you from?"

"I'm from Hungary."

"Oh really? Yes Hungary is very known for its culture all over the world, many people speak its langage, and of course it made great things for the world History!"

There was tension in the air, Coraline and Josef looked at each other with hatred. Cordelia noticed it and felt very uneasy.

"I prefer to leave, there is too much noise."

"Yes, the poor french girl don't like being with ordinary people."

Coraline didn't even look at him and said: "Cordelia, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, of course. Have a good night, sweety."

"Good bye. I hope you won't be bored too soon, men from Hungary aren't very interesting." She gave him a haughty look and went out.

As she left the place, she was thinking of that Josef. _What a horrible man! Who he thinks he is! And how dare he talk to me like that? No men talk to me without respect!_ She was furious.

A week later, she went to Cordelia's place. She knocked on the door and an old woman opened it. As she told her that she wanted to see Cordelia, the old woman took her to the drawing room. Coraline came in and with surprise saw that Cordelia wasn't here, but someone else.

"Hello, miss froggy!"

"You, here? I'm leaving!"

"Yes, leave. Don't you have humour? Don't you ever accept critics?"

"No, not from men and especially not from you."

"Really? That's funny."

"I don't like you mister Konstan."

"And I don't like you miss froggy."

"I'm no miss, but a Lady!"

"You're no Lady."

Josef was smiling, it was a game for him. He saw from the first day, that she had something different from the other women. This one was arrogant and had something in the eyes that showed that she was smart and manipulative. That was really irritating him; he wanted to give her a lesson.

Coraline was really upset. She thought that it was the most arrogant man she had met. She hated when he was smiling, she saw that he was playing with her and it made her very irritated.

"Are you sure that you don't want to stay and drink a cup of tea. We could talk of the good Napoleon III."

"I don't think so. I don't want to waste my time with a Hungarian. Oh excuse me I meant Austrian. Because after all, Hungary is under the Austrian crown, isn't it?"

Josef became suddenly upset, his eyes went iceblue and with the vampirespeed, came face to face to Coraline, which eyes turned into blue too.

"Don't speak of my people like that!"

"Why not? You speak of my own like that yourself."

They were no longer talking, but staring at each other. The tension was deep, and the anger became a huge desire. They hated each other, but at the same time, they were attracted.

They could feel the desire coming out from their body, the blood runing faster.

Josef couldn't handle it any longer. He kissed her passionatly and pushed her against the wall. He moved her to a little table that was against the wall. He sat her on it and was holding her arms all along the wall so she couldn't move. The passion was going harder in both of them. He lifted her arms up, still kissing her passionatly. He held them with his left hand, licked the fingers of his right hand and went under her dress.

Coraline felt his wet fingers between her legs and the pleasure exploded instantly. She wanted to move to him but she couldn't. He was holding her too firmly against the wall. She used to be the one who controled the other one. It was new for her and she didn't like not to have the controle. Josef felt that and it made him more excited. He caressed her wet and warm entry; she moved her pelvis with pleasure and moaned. She wanted to touch him too, but her hands were still firmly held.

"release… my… arms"

"No…"

"I hate … you…"

"Me too."

Their whispers disapeared in their kisses. She bet his lips and he responded with his fingers between her legs which made her moan. Josef unbuttoned his trousers; he was hard.

Coraline felt suddenly that he was inside her. She felt him moving slowly inside her, her pleasure was on the increase and wanted it to be faster. She was close.

"Faster… please faster"

"Shut up."

Josef was close too, but he wanted it to last longer. He felt how she responded and wanted to prolong it. But he was going to come, so moved his pelvis faster. Coraline was now at the top of the pleasure; she was completely lost in Josef's power and came. She bit him in his neck. He came as she bit him and responded in the same way. They were both taken by the passionatly pleasure.

They were now standing in front of each other, in L.A, without speaking. That was a long time ago, they were now friends. Their relationship never really worked; Coraline was his female ringer.

"Are you back for Mick?"

"No, Josef. I'm here for you."

Josef made a step forward to her.

"You saved my life. After all what I did to your best friend. Why?"

"No special reasons. Are you sure you didn't come back for him? He's happy now. He has a new life, has a new reason to live."

"I know. He doesn't love me anymore; he loves that human. But you didn't answer my question, Josef. Why did you save me?"

"Well, you're still my froggy."

Coraline smiled, came closer to him and kissed him.

--  
He woke up, in his freezer, the one Josef had helped him to buy, when he had moved to this apartment.

Mick went down to the kitchen and drank some blood. It was the day he would receive the results of his humanblood test. He wanted to call Beth to ask her to come with him, but since his turning, he wanted to be alone. It felt so weird to have now Josef as a sire; it had broken a link he had with Coraline, his wife and sire. It could be a new life as a vampire, and he could feel it in his body. He felt stronger and Josef was now more than his bestfriend, so it could be something new and less dark in his vampire life.

After a cold shower he went to his car. His phone rang; it was Josef.

"Hello?"

"Hey, can I talk to the new vampire please? I'm his sire, Josef Konstan and his bestfriend. I haven't heard from him for days, and I hoped he would not try to kill himself or hurt someone."

"Very funny… What do you want Josef?"

"You have to call me father now… No, I prefer that you call me Master"

"In your dreams."

"I wanted to try, just in case…"

"So, what do you want?"

"Can you come to my office?"

"Yes, but first I have to get something."

"Okay, see you then! Bye!"

Josef hang up before Mick could answer. He drove to the laboratory and parked his mercedes.

He went to Allison who had helped him with Coraline's blood.

"Hello, I came to get the results of the blood test."

"Yes, I remember! Well, I guess it comes from the same person?"

"No, why?"

"Because it is exactely the same results…" _How can this be possible?_

"Even the blood type?"

"Yes, AO-"

"It can't be possible. This blood is from an other person."

"I'm quite sure of that. It must be a mistake, because as I told you last time, this blood is extremely rare."

_I don't understand how my bloodtype became AO-…_

"Well, thank you. Bye."

"Good bye."

Mick tok back the blood, and as he went to his car, many questions came to his mind. How was it possible that his own bloodtype changed with the cure? He had to find more answers, but without Coraline, it was impossible. Josef wouldn't help him, because he was against the cure, but he had to know more on the compound. But unfortunately all his answers were with Coraline and her family… his family…


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: Here we are in L.A with Coraline, Josef, Mick and Beth!! Things are going in a new way, darker because of a special case Mick's working on. I hope you'll like it :) And thanks again for the great reviews!!

**CHAPTER 7**

"So you wanted to tell me something?" asked Mick as he came in Josef's office.  
"Here you are my son!"  
"Stop that! I'm not your son."  
"Oh, come on, it's funny. Who'd thought that I would be your sire?"

Mick smiled because he knew Josef was right. He would never have imagined that one day his bestfriend would have saved his life and become his sire.  
Suddenly he smelt something that he hadn't considered to find there. He recognized at once whose parfum it was.  
"Yes she was here." Said Josef as he saw that his friend was smelling her.  
"What? why? Is she back? When?"  
"Wow, wow! Calm down and stop those questions right now!"

Josef could feel that Mick was confused, but he couldn't tell him everything. Mick had to forget Coraline.  
"She won't stay in L.A. She came to me to say good bye, I guess. But you might be in danger."  
"Did she tell you that?"  
"No, she said nothing about you. I have heard of what her family is capable of, especially Lance."  
Mick remembered what Lance had told him when he had staked Coraline: _"Welcome to the family!"  
_"Why would I be in danger? She's the one who stole the compound."  
"Well, I don't know, but I remember that when Coraline married you, it made some trouble with her brothers." Mick remembered what Lance told Coraline before he staked her _"you chose to bring this ungrateful mortal into our bloodline without his conscent and without our blessing, and now you've chosen to betray us with his compound. There will be consequences…"  
_"Yeah, but she's no longer my sire."  
"They don't know that. So just be careful, okay? After all, I have to protect you even more now. 'Luke, I'm your father!'"

As he left Josef's place, Mick was thinking that there could be hope for the cure. Coraline was back for some times and she could help him.  
When he sat in his car, his phone rang:  
"Hey Mick, it's Guillermo."  
"Hey man."  
"Can you come over here? I think we might have a problem."

He stopped his car in front of the morgue and came in. Guillermo was waiting in the cold corridor.  
"So, what do you have for me?"  
"The Cleaner brought me something."  
"The Cleaner?"  
"Yes, that's why I told you to come. It's unusual, that's why. Are you ready? You have to know that's quite harsh, man."

Mick and Guillermo went in the cold room. On a table lay a little black bag. Guillermo opened it and Mick went a step back.  
"What the hell is that?" asked Mick  
"You can see that, it's a baby."  
"Yeah, I see that, but this one has been turned?!"  
"That's why I asked you to come here. The Cleaner and her team were called and they found this. She told me that she'd never seen this before, and she knew that you come here sometimes."  
"And she wants me to find who did that?"  
"Yes, I think she said: 'I want Mick to find out who turned and killed this baby so I can give a good lesson to the bastard who did that!'"  
"I'll do my best…" As Mick saw the little cold blue body on the table, old sentences came to his mind… _You, me and Baby_

He was walking in the corridor lost in his bad memories and went to his car, when he heard a sweet voice:  
"I just saw your car."  
He jumped with surprised and he felt that her heart made the same thing.  
"Very surprising to meet you here in the morgue. You came for blood I guess." Beth said that with some embarrassment.  
This meeting reminded Mick, how he constantly met her after important things that had happened between them: the desert, the first kiss and now. It was just like if the universe wanted them to be together even if they were so different.  
"Hi, no I'm on a case. And you, I guess you don't come here for blood."  
She smiled and Mick saw how her face was shining under her smile.  
"Maybe… well, no. I'm searching for informations and maybe a body."  
"A body?" It just remembered him the sad body he just saw.  
"Yeah I'm working on a case, where babies are missing."  
"Babies? Are they several?" _It's odd, maybe there is a connection with the body I just saw.  
_"Well, it's not official, but yes, I think it's a serial baby kidnapper."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Can we talk of that somewhere else?"  
"Yes, of course, meet me at my place."  
"Allright, I've got my car, I'll follow you."

As he drove to his apartment, he looked in his rear-view mirror and saw Beth driving back him. It felt good to see her again, he had missed her so much. After their picnic on the beach and his turning, he hadn't seen her, or spoken to her. And again they did just like if nothing had happened between them.  
Suddenly when he looked again at the road, he saw her, walking on the sidewalk. She was looking in his direction, smiling. _Coraline!_ But she disappeared as fast as an eyelashflutter.  
When they arrived in front of his door, Mick was still confused by the vision of Coraline.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Uh, yeah, just something I think I saw. But it was a mistake. Come in."

They sat on the coach and Beth began to talk.  
"Well I was searching things on the internet, and I asked Sam to go in the police's files… don't look at me like that! I was searching something to write about… And then we found a file named "babies". We opened it and found that these last two weeks, three babies have been recorded missing."  
"Well, that's interesting, because Guillermo called me and showed me a body. It was the body of a baby."  
"That's horrible. You think it could be one of those missing babies."  
"I don't know. But the worst part is coming. This one was turned into a vampire."

--  
He didn't like to lie to him, but he knew that Mick wouldn't understand why he went to France to save her. If he told that, he would have to tell his relationship with her, and Mick would never forgive him that. It was even more difficult now that he was his sire.

Josef went to the last floor, a good massage would help to forget those things. He lay on the table, but memories of Coraline kissing him in his office came back to his mind. Why was she back to him now?

There allways was something special between them. He had loved her, but this love became a friendship. He remembered that when she met Mick, he didn't understand why she was interested in that man. First she had played with him like hundred other men. But she felt in love, and he never understood how; he was jealous. Then he met Sarah and he felt in love too. That was only then, that he understood Coraline. And Mick became his bestfriend. So he tried to help him to forget her. After all no one could change Coraline, and all those years playing with men, made her into a bad thing for them.

Josef was the only one who understood that and it was the reason why they were so good friends. He had played with women like she had played with men, and both of them found first love in each other, then with human.  
One thing he was sure of, was that, falling in love with a human could be something terrible:  
Coraline became out of herself and kidnapped a child, and he had failed when he turned his dear Sarah.  
Mick had to be very careful with Beth, and Josef was afraid that it could destroy his friend forever if something happened to her.  
Josef suddenly thought that if Mick was in danger, Beth was in danger too. He felt that Coraline was not for no reason back to L.A. She must have something back in her mind and he had to find what.

--  
"A baby vampire? Oh my god, that's terrible. How is that possible?"  
"I don't know. Children can be turned, but babies? I haven't heard stories about it before."

Beth and Mick were both thinking of that time when Coraline had kidnapped Beth. Mick glanced at her who looked down. Then she looked at him.  
"We have to find who did that!"  
"Yes, we must stop that person, well that vampire, because it's surely a vampire."  
"And I think it's a woman. When I read the police's file, I was already thinking of a woman. It reminded me an old story…"  
"Yeah, I know." Then Mick thought: _Oh my God, Coraline is back and those babies missing… it can't be her? Not again? Not like that!  
_"Are you sure you want to be a part of this, Beth? I know we can find horrible things that can remind you-"  
"I'll be okay Mick. It is a long time ago and since I've staked Coraline, I'm feeling better."

Mick looked at her, she was beautiful, just like on the beach where she was waiting for him with food just for him.  
"I think we should speak to one of the mothers." Said Beth feeling that Mick was looking at her.  
"Yes, I think it's a good idea. We take my car."

Mick and Beth were sitting in the old Mercedes. Mick looked carefully at her and she did the same when he was staring at the road. The silence began to make them feel uncomfortable. Beth was the first who broke the silence:  
"So, how does it feel to be a vampire again?"  
"Well, just like before."  
"We never talked about you becoming a vampire again. How did that happen?"  
Mick didn't tell her that he had had to choose: save her or his humanity; and he didn't want her to know it.  
"I was lying dead on the floor and Josef was there… he turned me."  
"What? really? So he's your sire now, right?"  
"Yes, weird, uh."  
Beth laughed, then became serious:  
"So Coraline isn't your sire anymore."  
Mick looked at her:  
"No, she's no longer my sire." He thought of the vision he had some hours ago and wanted to say it to Beth, but he couldn't, not with this case, not after what happened between them on the beach.  
"Listen, we haven't talked since you saved me. I was so surprised that you were a vampire again. And …"  
"You don't have to thank me Beth. I'll always be here for you."  
She looked at him and opened the mouth to say something about what happened on the beach but the car stopped.  
"Here we are. This is where the first baby missing lived."

They went out of the car and walked in a pedestrian street. There were many people there and they had to make their way through. Beth was searching the number of the bulding and Mick followed her when he saw her again. _Coraline_. She was sitting on a terrace and drank coffee with an other man. Mick was going to go to her, but Beth noticed that he had stopped.  
"What's wrong Mick?"  
"Uh? Nothing, I just…" But Coraline was gone. "I saw someone…"  
"The same than on the way to your apartment?"  
"I'm not sure. Come on, this is the place."  
Beth looked at him and understood that Mick was hiding something from her, and she was decided to find out what.

--  
"What are you doing exactly Coraline?"  
"Henri!? You're here?"  
Coraline was in a little street perpendicular to the one where she was sitting, and where Henri was staring at her.  
"He sent me to L.A to watch you. Actually, Lancelot was supposed to watch you, but I asked to do it. So what are you doing? Drinking a coffee with a human?"  
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Oh yes I'm sure. I know Mick better than he does himself. I've got to go."

Coraline went back to the terrasse and sat back to her table.  
"I'm sorry, I had to make an important call."  
"That's fine."  
"So, what we were talking about ADA Benjamin Talbot?"

FIN


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

"So, you're a photographer for Buzzwire?" asked Benjamin Talbot.  
"Not only. I'm freelance too. Last time I helped a P.I. You may know him; it's Mick St John."  
"Yes right. I've heard of him…"  
"He works quite often with my collegue Beth Turner, a cute girl.."

Benjamin Talbot's eyes widened as he heard Coraline saying her name.  
"Yes Beth Turner!" he said, "I worked on a case involving the death of her boss, well your boss too."  
"Yeah a sad story.." Coraline said that without a real interest. "So, why did you call me, Benjamin? Can I call you Benjamin?  
"Yes, of course. I called you because I need you on a case and I think you could help us."  
"What kind of case is it?"  
"It's quite difficult to explain right now, because the problem is that we don't have any proof or suspects. Babies are missing and we don't have any bodies, nothing."  
"Babies? Horrible! Who could do that?" _Well you did, remember?  
_"So do you want to help us?"  
"Yes, what should I do?"  
"Taking pictures."  
"Yeah right, but of what?"  
"Of all the places in L.A. where mothers go with their children. Just do as if you were making pictures for an exhibition."  
"Okay. I can do that, but there are many places in L.A and many children too…"  
"The ones who are missing were between 2 and 4 months."  
"So young?" _I might have chosen a younger as well, 'cause now I have that stupid Beth on my back…  
_"Yes… Don't you have a friend with a baby?"  
_Difficult Ben, 'cause I'm a vampire and my friends are vampires too! I'm not like my sweety husband who plays with humans…  
_"Well… No I don't…"  
"That's not a problem; I want you to meet the victim's families, so they may give you ideas where you can take pictures."  
"Okay." _Oh no… not mothers crying…_

--  
The door opened and Beth saw a 30-year-old woman with the saddest face she had seen. Mick and Beth followed her in the living room and sat on the couch.  
Beth was the first to talk:  
"I've heard that your baby is missing and I don't think that you're the only one-"  
"Excuse me?" asked the young mother, surprised and shocked.  
"What she tries to say is that she would like to help you to find your child. I'm a P.I. and we can work for you. You wouldn't have to pay anything."  
"Why would you that? I don't know you and I went to the police, they will find my son… I know that you're a journalist, miss Turner. You're here for a scoop. Do you and your husband have any children?"

Beth looked at Mick and blushed, but before Beth could answer, Mick said:  
"No, we don't." He looked at Beth and gave her a look that meant _Not the good time to argue with her.  
_"Right so you don't know how it feels to loose your first baby! He's only 2 months-"  
The woman began to cry.  
"I may not have children, but I know how it feels to be taken from parents. I was kidnapped by a woman when I was only four."  
The woman stopped crying and was listening to Beth.  
"I just want to find who did that and stop her."  
"Do you know who did that?"  
"No, but it must be a woman. Often, they are women who can't have children self and take babies from other women. It was how I was kidnapped myself."  
Mick felt guilty and put a hand on Beth's knee; he felt her heart beating fast.  
The young mother said nothing and looked down. Beth broke the silence:  
"You must have some pictures to show me of your son?"  
"Yes of course!" She went to a drawer and Beth murmured to Mick:  
"When she comes back, go to the baby's room to see if you can find something."

The woman came back with a lightblue album. A babyboy was on the cover, with small Teddybears around. She sat next to Beth and showed her the pictures.

Mick found the room: a little bed in the middle, the walls white and sweet yellow, with bears on a frieze. It smelled baby: a sweet parfum mixed with milk smell. Then he felt it, smelled it, the vampire scent coming from the window. He was now sure that it was a vampire who did that. He could see the figure, _a woman coming from the window to the little bed where the baby is sleeping. She stays near it and smiles at the baby. "My sweet son, I'm so glad that I found you. I'll take you home, your mummy is back…" She takes him in her arms and get out by the window._

Mick went back to the livingroom where the young mother kept showing pictures to Beth without noticing that Mick was gone.  
"Can we take one of the pictures?"  
"Uh, yes, if it can help. Take this one. It was his two months' birthday."  
"Thank you. We'll try our best to find him!"  
"Call me if you need anything."  
"I have a question" asked Mick, "In which hospital did you go to give birth?"  
"To the Good Samaritan Hospital. Why? Do you think it's someone from there?"  
"I don't know, but I prefer to beginn with the place where your child is born."  
"Thank you very much, and I hope we'll find your son soon!"

Mick and Beth went out, without saying a word. It was difficult for both of them to think of the past and of what they could find.

--  
She looked at herself in the mirror _What are you doing Coraline? I have no choice, he wants Mick. I'll protect him when I'll bring him to father. He can't be killed, I love him, he loves me. No! he loves that human, that Beth! But I'll get him back and he'll forget who she is! No men can resist me!_

"Hello miss froggy! I knew you'd be here."  
"Oh hi Josef, that's a nice surprise. Do you miss me so much?"  
"Well I'm still thinking of our kiss and I have to say that I miss it…"  
"It's not like you Josef…"  
"It wasn't like you neither when you kissed me."  
"I guess that the fact you saved my life made old feelings come back…"  
"Really?"  
"I think so.."

Josef smiled and came closer to Coraline. He put a hand on her hip, the other one hold her chin and he murmured:  
"I know that you're hiding something from me and I'll find out what. Just be careful that it's not involving Mick or I won't save your life again."

He smiled and kissed her. Coraline said nothing, but she was very confused, that was the first time Josef showed really that he cared for Mick more than her. She saw him living her apartment, when she heard:  
"What does he want? Does he know something of our plans?"  
"Oh my god, Henri, are you still following me?"  
"I'm taking care of you. I don't want you to make something stupid. Just take your husband with us back to France!"  
"Henri, it's not that simple. Mick won't follow like that! I've told you that I know what I'm doing!"  
"Are you sure? Because it seems that Josef Konstan knows what you're doing!"  
"No he doesn't! He just thinks he does!"  
"Just be careful Coraline. Father won't forgive you twice and Josef Konstan seems to take care of your husband. I don't want you to be hurt!"  
"And I won't, Henri."  
"You're the only one I really need to survive as a vampire. You know that…"  
_I wished Mick was like you…  
_"You're so sweet, Henri. I promise I'll be careful."

--  
The mercedes drove on the roads of L.A. to the Good Samaritan Hospital. Mick and Beth were still confused after what happened at this young mother. It was a difficult case for both of them; Mick felt guilty and Beth didn't know if she was angry against Coraline or against the woman who stole the baby.

The car was now driving all along the beach. It was a sunny day, just like the day they met on the beach, when Mick was still human. Beth looked at the sea, thinking of Mick human. He felt that her heart was beating faster; she was nervous.  
"Are you okay Beth?"  
Beth looked at him, she blushed, _does he know what I'm thinking of?_  
"Yes I'm alright. I was looking at the sea."  
"Yeah it's a beautiful day to be on the beach… juste like the one where we had picnic."  
He felt her heart beating still fast; he understood that she was thinking of what had happened then.  
"It was a beautiful day indeed." She thought before she said "Do you miss your humanity?"  
"Yeah I do. I miss not being able to picnic with you again."  
"We could do that again.."  
"You know I'm not human?!"  
"Yes I know" she laughed "I meant we could do that at night.."  
"It's a god idea, yes, we could do that."

They arrived to the hospital and went to the maternity service. Mick asked to speak with the doctor and the nurse told them to wait.  
They sat in the waiting room. Pregnant women were sitting and read magazines about babies. It was the first time Beth was in such a place and felt herself quite in an other world. Everything was pastel, happy and friendly. _If only they knew that a vampire was here! She smiled as she thought that_.  
A nurse came and said:  
"Mr. and Mrs St John, the doctor is waiting for you."  
_Twice in a day! That's great…  
_They came near the door and Mick hold it for Beth:  
"You first honey."  
Beth looked at him surprised and smiled:  
"You're so kind my sweety Micky!"

The doctor was sitting at his desk and seemed very busy.  
"So, how can I help you?"  
"My name is Mick St John, I'm a P.I. and this is Beth Turner, she works with me. We are working on a case involving missing babies. One of them is born in this hospital"  
"And you think that it's the reason why he's missing?"  
"No, but we try to make all the way from the beginning so we can understand who did that. It's surely someone who has seen the baby before kidnapping it."  
"I understand. But how could I help you?"  
"You could give us a list of the name of people who work with you. That's a beginning." Said Beth.  
"Okay, I'll give that to my secretary."  
"Thank you very much" said Beth and Mick.

The secretary printed a list:  
"Here are the names of all who work for or with Dr. Johanson."  
As they went out, Mick noticed that Beth was seriously lost in her mind:  
"What are you thinking of?"  
"Oh it's just that name, Dr. Johanson. I think I read it in the police's file. I should call Sam."

They sat in the car and Beth dialed the number:  
"Hi Sam, it's Beth. Could you send me the names of the mother's doctors? Yeah to my phone. Yeah.. Okay.. thanks, bye."  
Two minutes later Beth received the names.  
"Guess what, Mick!"  
"What?"  
"All the mothers gave birth at the Good Samaritan Hospital, and their doctor was Dr. Johanson."

--  
The little baby was screaming in his white bed.  
"Here, my darling, mummy's here!"  
The woman took the body in her arms.  
"Don't worry, we'll be together for eternity… just you and me."

Her eyes became iceblue, her fangs extended. The baby felt the change in her body and he began to scream of fear. She opened her mouth and the terrified little voice passed away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The sun was shining on the black mercedes which drove back to L.A. Beth was holding the list and read again the names.  
"It can't be a coincidence, Mick."  
"No, it can't and I don't believe in coincidences." He looked at Beth and this last sentence reminded him the day he saw her walking on the cold water. Fate had sent her to him; even if he had spent many years being sure she didn't need him, she was suddenly back in his life and he liked it. "We are getting close."  
"Yes, we know where it comes from, but we have to find out who. It can't be the doctor because it's a woman we are looking for. So we have to look more on the list which women work for him."  
"Yes, and it must be a woman who has a frequent contact with the babies."  
"We have to go to the playground and find other mothers who knew the one we talked to. Maybe some of them gave birth at the same hospital and can give us informations."  
"Yes, it's a good idea."

The mercedes drove to the center where the victim's mother used to take her baby. Mick and Beth went to the playground where children were playing, screaming, laughing. It was an other atmosphere than the hospital. There were colours too, but brighter and with the sun, the green coming from the trees, it made them feel happy. Mothers were sitting looking at their children playing, or holding a book in one hand and rocking the pram with the other one. Others were talking to each others and playing with the kids. It was an other world of happiness, game and youth. So when Mick and Beth came there, they looked like people coming from an other galaxy: Mick wearing dark clothes and Beth like a reporter.  
"Well, there are many mothers… I think we should separate and talk to them. I go this way and then we can meet at your car."  
"Okay…"

Mick and Beth went from mother to mother, saying and asking the same thing over and over again; "Hey, my name is Beth Turner/ Mick St John, I'm working on a case involving a missing baby. Do you know this woman? In which hospital gave you birth? Do you know Dr. Johanson? Who was your midwife? The name of your nurse? Did you notice something suspicious with her, or the people working at the Hospital? Call me if you have any informations. Thanks, have a nice day."

After one hour they met at the mercedes. Mick was waiting standing near the car and watched Beth coming closer.  
"So, how was it for you? Did you get something interesting?" Mick smiled at Beth as she asked that.  
"Yes, some of them gave birth at the same place. Do you really look tired…"  
"I am tired! They talk almost only of their children… just like if they only have them in their life! Anyway… I found out that some of them knew the victim and his mother and-"

Mick wasn't listening to Beth. Coraline was suddenly there going and laughing, she held her camera and took pictures of the children. Mick was lost in the view completely forgetting Beth who kept reading loud her notes.  
Mick saw Talbot coming to Coraline who gave him a hug. _It can't be her… she looks happy… she smiles…she's supposed to be in France, dead…  
_Beth noticed that Mick wasn't listening to her but looking at the playground, having the same face than when they were standing in front of the burning building. She turned her back and saw Coraline taking pictures of the children and talking to Talbot.  
"Oh my god, is it her?" She surprised herself saying loud what she was thinking and that brought Mick back to reality.  
"What?"  
"Coraline! She's here and with ADA Talbot! They must be working on the same case!"  
"They haven't seen us yet, we should go." Mick's voice was cold and nervous.  
"O- Okay"

As the car drove away, Coraline smiled. She knew that Mick and Beth had seen them. _Everything is going exactly like I want… perfect_.

--  
Mick was in his car. It was now night and he was sitting there alone since half an hour looking at the house. He had to find out how she was back in L.A and try to get answers about the cure. Finaly he got of the car and went to the door. He knocked at it and had to wait some minutes before the door opened.

Coraline was standing in a red gown, looking at him without surprise or pleasure just saying a little "Hi." She let him coming in and went to the living-room.  
Mick felt weird, it wasn't exactly how he expected her to react. The silence was loud in the room, Mick was staring at her with surprise and she stared at him with the same face she had some years ago near the swimming pool, that Coraline was.. "Back, you're back!"  
"Yes."  
"You're not dead?!"  
"No I'm not. Why? You hoped that I was dead… again?"  
"I don't know. I thought that you were going to be killed."  
"So, why are you here? I don't really have time… I have a diner with ADA Talbot."  
"The cure wore off."  
"Yes, I can see that… Do you mind if I dress while you're talking?"  
"What?"  
"Nothing…" Coraline went to her room and opened the cupboard "And so?"  
"Well I need more!"  
"You are kidding, right? You heard my brother, it's in France." She chose black jeans and a red glitter top.  
Mick was completely lost, she was so different from the Coraline who gave him the cure.  
"But you told me Cynthia helped you with the cure!"  
"Yes, she was, but she stopped. It was too dangerous for our community."  
"You promised to help me!"  
Coraline sat at her dressing table and made up. She looked at him in the mirror and said:  
"I never promised you that, Mick. You have to accept who you are."  
Mick stayed silent _it has to be a joke_.

They heard someone knocking at the door.  
"It must be Ben."  
"Who?"  
"ADA Talbot. Stay here so he can't see you. You just have to leave when we are gone."

She went to the door and open it. He could see her smiling and laughing, then he heard the door closing. Mick was standing in the middle of her bedroom, all alone without understanding what had just happened. It was like a nightmare, like that night he was a human, her puppet. He felt that he was beginning to be crazy like that time he throwed a chair on her glasswall. Coraline was playing with him, the old dangerous Coraline was back, he had to speak to Josef.

He went to his car and drove straight to Josef's building. A man let him inside and followed him to the office.  
"Hey Mick! God you look terrible, have you finaly seen Beth naked and discovered she's a man?"  
Mick looked shocked.  
"Ok, sorry buddy. What's wrong?"  
"Coraline is back…"  
"You knew that already..."  
"I mean, I saw her, many times and tonight I went to her house and talked to her and…"  
"You what? Are you kidding me? You are not doing the same stupid thing man!"  
"She's trying to make me crazy again! I saw her when I was with Beth! I saw her in the streets, at a terrasse, at the playground…"  
"The playground? What the hell were you doing there?"  
"A case… she's with this man, Talbot, smiling, laughing and…"  
"Stop right now Mick! You're going mad! Don't you listen to what you're saying?! You're carrying her again! You have to stop that! I thought you had begun a new life, what about Beth, man?"  
Mick was listening to his friend understanding that everything he was doing was wrong.  
"Coraline is up to something, Mick, something bad. I'm sure of it, and you, stupid, are jumping right in!"  
"You're right. She was like the old Coraline, playing with me…"  
"Of course I'm right! I'm allways right!"  
"Thanks Josef."  
"You're welcome. That's what father, sire are meant for…"

Josef saw his friend leaving the apartment. Coraline showed what she wanted and it scared him. _She's playing with him again, and she played with me too. She will regret that… I don't know why she does that, but it's clear that she wants Mick back… she knows how he reacts… He won't be over Coraline alone, and Beth could be in danger too.  
_Josef took his phone and dialed a number.  
"Cordelia, hi it's Josef. I have to talk to you…about Coraline… yes… where can we meet?… ok… see you in half on hour."

--  
He opened his mouth, making a light cloud of condensation in the icecold freezer, the hunger awakened him. Mick hadn't slept well the rest of the night because of his meeting with Coraline and Josef. He went downstairs, grabbed a bag of blood and smiled; Beth was in the corridor. He opened the door before she could knock.

As the door opened, Beth saw with surprise Mick standing in the kitchen half naked, and blushed as he said "Hi".  
"Hey. You're not ready yet?"  
"No I just got up. Where are we supposed to go today?"  
"Well first I came here to see your notes from yesterday to compare them with mine. Remember, the playground?"  
"Uh, yes the playground. The notes are in my office, here."  
Beth looked at Mick with a suspiscous look as she followed him to the office.  
"Take your time, while I'm dressing up."  
"Thanks.."

Mick went upstairs and grabbed jeans and a brown shirt. He felt weird seeing Beth after what happened with Coraline. He couldn't tell her that he was at her house, she would never forgive him that. After all, he had told her at Josh's funeral that Coraline and him were never meant to be. But he needed answers, why was she back in L.A? The cure was still in his mind, even if he felt better now as a vampire, there were still questions.  
He went downstairs and found Beth sitting in the couch reading and comparing the notes.  
"So, you find something interesting?"  
"Yes, I think so. Well, five of these women gave birth at the Good Samaritan hospital, and we have two names that comes back: a nurse, Maria Esteban and a midwife, Rachel Andrew."  
"Good, we just have to talk to them and see if one of them could be our suspect, or knows something."

They went to the mercedes and drove the same road they had taken the day before to the hospital. This time, Beth was still but not nervous. Mick could feel that she was thinking of yesterday, at Coraline.  
As they came in the maternity department, they asked to speak with Maria Esteban. A young girl came to them and drove them to the a little room where nurses used to take their break.  
"So, what can I do for you?"  
"My name is Mick St John and I work on a case where babies are missing. Do you know this woman?"

Mick showed a picture of the young mother.  
"Yes, I think I recognize her. Yes, I remember her: she gave birth to a little boy. He wasn't well at first, he wasn't breathing and I had never seen such a scared mother!"  
"Who was her midwife?" asked Beth.  
"Rachel, I think. Yes, it was Rachel Andrew. She was taking care of the boy and I remember that she wasn't listening to the poor mother. Rachel can be very special some times."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, she loves babies but sometimes she forgets that they have parents. I saw her talking to them like if they were her own. The other nurses laugh at her, but I don't because I know that she lost her baby some years ago…"  
"It must have been difficult for her." said Beth, beginning to feel suspiscous.  
"Yes, like for every mother. But she never talks about that."  
"Do you know where we can find her? Does she work today?"  
"Rachel? No, she's not here. It has been two months now that she left the departement without any reasons."  
Mick and Beth looked at each other understanding what that meant.  
"Thank you very much for your help Maria."

They went to the elevator and Beth said:  
"She must be our suspect."  
"Yes, it seems like she follows the profile."  
"Totally! She lost a child and sees babies everyday. She may have lost control."  
"Maria said that she stopped coming here two months ago. Maybe there is a connection with her being a vampire. We have to find where she lives and maybe a death report."

They went out and got in the car. Mick started the car. Beth hesitated before she said:  
"We have to find her before ADA Talbot, if Rachel is the vampire we are looking for."  
It confirmed what she feared. Mick was suddenly lost in his mind hearing Talbot's name. He had the same disturbed face as when he had seen Morgan. It made Beth angry because of all the things she had done to them, to her. And now Mick was thinking of Coraline with Talbot.  
"You still think of her, don't you!"  
Mick cleared his mind. "What?"  
"You don't bear seeing her with an other man. I thought that she meant nothing more for you."  
"It's not what you think, Beth. it's-"  
"Oh yeah? So can you explain the face you have when you see her? I can see it Mick."  
Mick said nothing.  
"After what she did to you, to me. Did you forget what you told me? "that you were never meant to be"? And after what happened on the beach Mick!?"  
"It has nothing to do with that. I meant it when I told you that it was over. It's more complicated."  
"What about the kiss, Mick! You kissed me on the beach and now you're thinking of her! does it mean that it was nothing for you? That I'm not important to you?"  
There it was. Mick felt Beth's heart bumping in her chest, she was angry and nervous. They hadn't talked about his kiss.  
"You kissed me, Mick."  
"I know I kissed you, but I don't think it's the place to talk of that-"  
"We have to talk about it!"

Mick's phone rang, he felt relieved and answered:  
"yes?"  
"Mick, it's Guillermo. You have to come here."  
"What do you get?"  
"We have an other body. A baby… turned."  
"Okay, I'm on my way." He hang back up. "We have an other dead baby."

--  
Talbot was sitting at his desk, looking at the pictures Coraline gave him the day before. He had names, but didn't really know where to begin. He had no trail, nothing and he hated that. He was reading one more time the files for each missing babies when lieutenant Davis came to him.  
"Yes, Davis?"  
"We have another baby missing."


	10. Chapter 10

**betaed by**: Ancholia and Moonlightfan4eva.  
**A/N**: this chapter is darker because of some descriptions and mostly because of the atmosphere. We are going closer to the end of the case...  
Thanks again Moonlightaddict for your great reviews, you totally understand what my point of view is! :)

**Chapter 10**

Mick was sitting on his couch, in the dark, looking into the void. The darkness filled the appartment, where silence reigned. The moonlight shined through the stairs and marked his face with stripes. Outside, L.A was living; the cars' sounds and their horn contrasted with the dead apartment. Mick was lost in his thoughts; many things had happened in few days: him kissing Beth, Coraline's return and this awful case. It was too much for him and he began to feel that he couldn't handle all this longer.  
He stood up and went to his dark office. No lights were on, only the screen of his computer which lighted his face. He began to look at the different notes he had from the last meetings. Then he saw the picture of the two dead bodies he had seen at the morgue…

_He was going through the cold blue corridors of the morgue with Beth to a colder room where Guillermo was standing, waiting for them.  
"There you are!"  
__"So? Do you have another dead baby?"  
__" Yes. The cleaner brought it too. I don't have to say that she was very angry. She almost ripped my face, man! Do you want to see the body?"  
__"Yeah. Beth, are you sure you want to see that?" He had already tried to prevent her, but she wanted to be with him.  
__"I'm okay Mick. I'm ready to see it." Beth said that with a cold and determined voice.  
__"If you say so.." Mick looked at Guillermo to confirm him that he could show them the body._

_When Guillermo opened the little black bag on the alluminium table, Beth let a little scream out and her hand flew to her mouth. The baby had been turned too. He was a little younger than the first one; it was a young baby, around two months. His skin was blue and the eyes were wild open. It wasn't a sweet little baby, but much more a monster with ice-blue eyes, only the fangs were missing. It was difficult to think that some days before it was only a baby smiling to his mother.  
__Mick was looking at the body and noticed that it was a boy, when suddenly he heard Beth:  
__"Oh my god, Mick. It's the son of the mother we talked to!"  
__"Are you sure?"  
__"Yes, look, I have the picture, it's the same baby!"  
__"Oh God."  
__"What we're gonna do? We can't tell her that her baby died as a vampire!"  
__"Of course not. Guillermo, do you know if we can hide the eyes, or something that could hide the fact that he's a vampire?"  
__"Are you crazy? We can't let the police see the body?"  
__"But we can't hide him from his mother! Mick, we have to do something!"  
__"Come on Guillermo!"  
__"Okay, I'll see what I can do."  
__"Thanks man. I'll call the police."_

Mick wasn't expecting to see the son of this young woman turned and dead. It was a horrible case. He stood up and went slowly to the window back to his desk. Outside the moon was full and everything was still moving. That was why he liked L.A, it was a living city, with all those cars, and where shops were open at night. As his eyes were lost in the moving tinsel of yellow and red car's lights, Mick thought of his discussion with Beth in his mercedes, when he drove her home.

_They hadn't said much after the morgue and he could feel that Beth was still angry, but after the view of that poor baby, she was horrified. They had nothing to say; Coraline's visit wasn't a good topic at this time; he wasn't ready yet to talk about the kiss on the beach, and he didn't want to talk about the case either. It was late and she was tired; too many things had happened for both of them._

_When the car stopped in front of her house, Mick saw that she was looking down. He could feel that she needed to be comforted, and he wanted to kiss and envelop her with his arms to make her forget all the horrible things she had in her mind. But he was lost too and needed to feel sure about Coraline's plans. Finally she looked at him, right in the eyes, without saying a word. Her eyes were shining with tears that she hold. It was so hurting to see her like that.  
__"Beth, I don't know what to say to you right now, because I don't know myself what's happening."  
__"Well, you have a problem now, Mick. And I don't talk about the case. If I see you again with Coraline, be sure that you'll never see me again. I know she was your wife, but it doesn't excuse what she has done to me. And after what happened between us, I want you to be sure of your feelings. I don't want to be her rival any longer."  
__Her voice was cold and clear, but she was sad. He could see that in her eyes and feel it in her voice. She went out of the car to the door of her house, without looking at him._

It was still hurting him, even now. He loved Beth, he knew it, but Coraline was back and he had to be sure of why she was in L.A. Even after what Josef had told him, he felt a force that lead him to her. He couldn't resist to that, and he knew Coraline had a power on him; she always had.

There were steps in the dark corridor coming closer to his door's office. Without knocking she opened the door and saw him standing in front of the window. She could feel that he was thinking of her, only by his heartbeating.

He felt her scent at the door, she was there, again.  
"Hi Mick." Her voice was sweet and tender.  
He turned to face her, and she was beautiful. Suddenly the picture of his wife in her red dress came to his mind, but he tried to stay calm.  
"What do you want Coraline?"  
"Aren't you happy to see me?" She was smiling, sweet, completely different from the last time he had seen her.

She went to the chair in front of his desk. She was looking at him with tender and naïve eyes.  
"I was thinking of what you told me, and I want to help you Mick."  
"What? Are you kidding me?" _What is she doing now?  
_"I was so afraid, but you're the only one who can understand me. So I will help you with the cure."  
"Really?"  
"Yes, Mick. I can't forgive me for all the pain I did to you. I know that you don't love me anymore, but I still do." She raised and went slowly to him. He made a step back, scared that he could lost control. Coraline stopped and stood some steps away. The light from the moon was lightning her face. Mick saw that her beauty wasn't changed, her skin, her eyes and her dark hair. She was a wonderful white ghost in this darkness.  
"I want you to be happy, Mick, even if it's not with me."  
"I- "

Coraline's phone rang and she answered.  
"Mick, I'm sorry, I have this job. But I promise that I will help you to find answers. Whatever you want from me."  
She came slowly to him and caressed slowly his cheek. Before he could realize it, she was outside the office, leaving him alone a hand lifted in the air, as if he wanted to keep her, forgetting the danger the contact with her involved: the discovery of his new sire.

* * *

The fresh air was brushing his blond hair. The red ferrari drove fast in the streets of L.A to the place Cordelia had given him. At night she had a lot of work to do, and he knew that he couldn't talk to her too long. He came to a place without any lights, only the headlights of his ferrari. Josef hated those places in L.A, it smelled dirt, but that was most of the time where Cordelia had to work. He noticed a white van at the bottom of the street. He stopped the beloved purring of the motor and stepped out. As he came closer to the van, he saw the long-limbed dark figure of Cordelia. He had missed this beautiful body. She was a good friend and most of all, a great lover. She noticed the new scent at the place and knew who it was. She turned and saw Josef coming to her smiling.  
"Busy?"  
"As allways. So what do you want Josef?"  
"Like I said, I want to talk about Coraline."  
"Okay but not here, not in front of my team." She turned to another vampire who was taking a leg from a body. "You have 10 minutes to clean everything, I'm back in 5, is it clear?" The vampire just nodded and kept going with the leg in his arms.  
Cordelia and Josef went slowly to the ferrari standing proud in the middle of the street.  
"I don't know where she is Josef."  
"I know where she is, she's in L.A. That's not the problem, I want to know with who she came back."  
"I didn't know she was here! I heard that she was brought back to France some days ago. The last time I've seen her, was sixty years ago, because of you actually." She made a one-corner smile to tease him.  
"Yeah, right, I remember…" He felt uncomfortable, because sixty years ago he had played with both of them and it ended with a fight between the two vampiress and his head almost cut off.  
"So how can I know how she came back and with who?"  
"Easy, beauty." He smiled proud of his idea. "Were you called to clean places where young blond girls, virgin, were drained?"  
"No."  
"Okay, so Lance isn't with her, good thing. Think Josef… if it isn't Lance, then it may be… yes of course! What about, old people, very old, sick, without any family, poor..?"  
"Well, yes, we might have three calls, where we found old people. Weird because they were lying like they were simply sleeping."  
"Yes, it's him."  
"Who?"  
"The nice brother. Thanks Cordelia."  
"My pleasure. And before I forget, tell your cute friend Mick, that I want the case closed!"  
"Allright. Don't you think I'm cute too?"  
"Don't dare! I lost a friend because of your sexual apetite!"  
"Just kidding. But, you know I'm here if you want…"  
Cordelia was going to hit him, but he jumped in his car and started up his car.  
"I know you miss Cordelia! Bye darling." He smiled, wincked at her and left the place by pushing on the accelerator.

Watching the road, Josef thought of Coraline. _It's a good news if Henri is with her. He won't let her doing something stupid, but I'm afraid he'll be sure she comes back with Mick. I have to be careful… he might be a nice vampire, but he still cares for his beloved sister. _

* * *

Beth woke up in her bed, with the sun shining in her eyes. She hadn't slept well; images from the baby vampire came back during the night. She had try not to think of that, but she was sad for the poor mother. This morning was not easy for her either; the case wasn't over and she had to face Mick some more days. Usually she was happy to be with him, she needed him, his presence, but since she had seen Coraline in the area, she was afraid to lose him. She was more scared now after the death of Josh, because before she just had to go back to Josh's arms. Now that he was dead, she was alone and she knew that she was in love with Mick. Losing him now, for Coraline, would be too hurting.

She went from the bathroom to the kitchen when she heard someone knocking at the door. She knew who it was, and she hated herself for feeling her heart beating so fast; there was no doubt Mick would notice it. She opened the door and he was standing in front of her. She loved this look so much, the same look he had the first night she saw him standing next to his car; but she was angry and afraid to be alone with him away.

They went to his car, silent. It was a long journey, they had to find that Rachel Andrew and stop her killing babies. They said nothing as the car drove to Andrew's address. Mick was more confused, he had seen Coraline twice and he couldn't tell it to Beth. She was already angry at him just because of his way of looking at Coraline, so knowing that he had been to her place and that she was in his office the night before, was impossible to say. Beth wanted to scream and tell him how much she needed him, but she had to be sure that he wasn't thinking of Coraline. This love was gnawing her inside, deeply; she had never felt this before. She was relieved when she saw that they were approaching the house. They went out of the car and Mick stopped at the door. He smelled and took from his jacket what he needed to pick the lock. Beth was standing back, knowing what to do; she was aware of the dangers. They came in the house. Everything was silent, dark, clean; too clean. Beth could guess that Rachel hadn't been there for a while. Beth looked at Mick to see if she was the vampire they were looking for.  
"I can smell there was a vampire here."  
Beth went to the livingroom, looking all around. The furnitures were all good taste, simple but tasty. She could feel that it had been a happy couple here before, or trying to show that it was a happy marriage. Pictures of the couple on the walls proved it.  
"Beth, Rachel Andrew is the vampire, I can smell it all over the house. We need to find informations, anything about her."  
They began to search everywhere in the house to find things that could prove that she was the one taking babies. There were mostly pictures of a woman smiling in the arms of her husband. Beth was going to the rooms and found one that had to be for a baby, surely the one that the nurse had told about. That was so sad; it was a beautiful little room with white walls and dark brown furnitures, with soft toys everywhere. It was like a ghost room, where a baby was desired but never came. Beth went to a drawer and opened it to find many pictures of babies, files with birth dates, names and adresses.  
"Mick! I think I found something!"

Mick came and looked at the files. It was the same names, than those on the police's file, with others. "We need to find her sire. She hadn't been here since her turning I think; the scents are old. It's the only way to know where she's hiding the babies."  
"Yes, but how? I can't ask Sam that!"  
"I may know someone. Come on, let's get out of here."

They went out of the house and as they reached the mercedes, someone standing in a good distance was staring at them.

* * *

Henri was hiding in Coraline's house since he came to L.A to take care of her. Their sire had no longer confidence in Coraline and Henri was the only one who could be sure that she wouldn't be killed or prevent her from doing something stupid. He could see that she was still in love with her husband. She had told him so many times that she knew what to do, but even if he trusted her, Henri was afraid that she would lost herself in this case.

When he heard that she was married to a human without their conscent, it had made him smile. Coraline allways did things in her way, she was a strong head woman. He soon heard that her husband was turned against his will; Henri knew too much what it was to be turned against his will, he understood what Mick felt. He couldn't blame him, after all it was the first time Coraline was in love, and she did what she thought was the best.

Henri didn't know all the things Coraline had done to Mick, but he could only imagine that she had done bad things to show him her love. The compound was a proof of that: when it was a matter of love, Coraline could do stupid things and Henri knew it.

Now Henri was afraid that Coraline was losing herself in her game. Josef Konstan was aware of something and Henri knew that he was someone powerful. His family was respected and admired in Europe and in the US. So he decided to watch the doings of his sister and followed Mick's car this early morning.

He discovered Coraline's husband walking and talking to a human who appeared knowing what he was. He was standing in front of the house where he saw them coming in. He waited some times until they came out again. He could feel that the woman was in love with his brother-in-law. Coraline had told him about her, but he didn't know much. Henri felt that he had to be careful that Coraline wouldn't do something stupid against that human. Even if she was just a human, Henri didn't like that people were killed without any reasons; unfortunatly he was the only one in the brotherhood to think that.

He saw the car leaving the place and decided to go back to Coraline's house, hoping that he would see her there.

* * *

Beth was looking outside the car's window when she heard her phone ringing; it was Sam. Mick heard the voice and recognized it, he looked at Beth searching a sign on her face of new informations. He noticed something wrong and as he saw Beth's face, he got the confirmation of his feeling.  
"Sam just told me that a new baby is missing."  
"We have to hurry and find her before she tries to turn this one too."  
"Yes, but how?"  
"I know a vampire, Logan, he can help us to find the sire."

Mick accelarated his mercedes and drove to Logan's place. They didn't have a lot of time and they had to find the baby before it would be too late. The car stopped in front of a building and Beth followed Mick to a basement.  
"Is there a vampire living here?"  
"Yes, Logan likes to be alone. But he's really nice, you'll see."

Logan was playing World of Warcraft when he saw Mick's face on the screen.  
"Oh no Mick! Not now!"  
He quickly opened the door by puching on a red knob and heard that Mick wasn't alone.  
"Mick, can't you come later, I'm just in the middle of a battle on line and I'm kicking their human's ass!"  
"Logan, this is Beth, she knows about us. Beth this is Logan."

Beth smiled as she saw the vampire; she hadn't expected to see such a vampire. Logan stopped his game and looked at her; it was the first time a woman, human, came in his basement and Mick could notice it.  
"Logan, I need you to find a vampire for us. It's really urgent, it's the sire of a vampire called Rachel Andrew."  
"How can he do that?"  
"Hey, I'm good at my work! It's easy. The vampire society has a kind of file with all the vampire's families, names of the sire, fledgling, when they were turned, where etc… When a vampire turns a human, they had to be registred."  
Logan began to search on a website. Beth looked at Mick and asked:  
"Why has a vampire to register his fledgling on the file?"  
"Because the sire has a responsibility towards his fledgling. If a new turned vampire does something really bad, then we only have to find his sire on the file."  
"But the doctor that you burned wasn't in the file!"  
"Yes, because his sire didn't know that he had turned that human."  
"Okay. I understand. But what about you and Josef then?"

Before Mick could answer, Logan showed that he had found the sire's name and address. Mick payed him and they went back to the car to drive directly to the sire's place. They stopped in front of a beautiful house standing on the beach. Before they went out of the car, Mick looked at Beth and said:  
"I won't ask you to stay in the car but be careful, he might be dangerous. I feel something strange, a smell that says something is going wrong here."  
"Okay I'll be careful."

They went to the door and Beth saw that Mick was smelling something. Actually she could smell something too, a bad scent, like if the sewers were in the middle of the place.  
"What is that smell?"  
"I'm not sure, but I have a bad feeling."

He opened the door and the smell was worse. They both put their hand on their nose and walked slowly in the house. Everything was silent and clean, it was a luxuous house, but obviously, no one was there.  
"Stay here Beth, I'm going to the basement. I can feel that the smell is coming from there."

Mick went to a door and opened it; a stair was going down and he turned on a light. He went slowly dowstairs and the scent was worse. He saw something lying on the floor and as he came closer he could see the body of a vampire staked, dead.

He went upstairs and saw that Beth was still standing in the middle of the livingroom, scared.  
"I've found him. He's dead, staked, probably dead for months."  
"But I thought that the stake could only paralyse."  
"Yes, but he died of hunger."  
"Oh God. Do you think Rachel Andrew did that?"  
"I don't know. The smell was too bad to tell. We need to call the Cleaner."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Well I just have to thank for the nice reviews, and let you read the following chapter that I really enjoyed writing. I hope you'll like it too.

**Chapter 11**

The van stopped in front of the house. It was in the middle of the afternoon, and she hated to work during the day. Humans were so occupied to look around and see if something was wrong; they were so paranoid, that she had to be paranoid to be sure not to be noticed. As she went out of the van, she remarked the horrible smell and understood why she had been called. She came closer to the door and noticed a human scent _What the hell is a human doing here?_ As she entered the house she saw Mick standing next to a blond girl, _the human_. Cordelia didn't know that Mick St John was working with humans and her surprise went stronger when she felt the feelings flowing from the two bodies; even if they weren't looking at each other, their thoughts were directed to the other one.

Mick saw that Cordelia was in the house and came to her. He could see that she was looking at Beth with an awkward look.

"Beth, I want to introduce you to the Cleaner."

Beth turned her back and looked at the woman standing in front of her. She was surprised by her beauty and the severity of her figure.

"This is Beth. She's working with me on this case."

"She's human."

The Cleaner wasn't looking at Beth at all.

"Yes, I'm human, but it isn't more surprising than being a vampire, don't you think?"

"Beth!"

"What?"

Cordelia was surprised by the impertinence of that human, and it instantly remembered her of an old friend. She smiled and asked Mick where the body was. She followed him to the basement and saw the staked vampire. She came closer to look and recognized him.

"Mick, I know this vampire."

"What?"

"I said: 'I know this vampire.'"

"yes, but who is he? And where did you know him from?"

"His name was Roland Delarnoy. He was french, from an old bloodline. I met him 150 years ago, at Lincoln's election. He was a great photographer." She actually met him the day before Coraline, but she didn't want Mick to know that she was a friend of his wife.

Her team came to take the body and clean the place. She went upstairs and found Beth looking at the vampires. She felt her heart beating fast, scared. It was funny to see a human, alive, trying to appear relaxed in the middle of all those vampires. Mick was coming from the staircase and was on his way to Beth when she took him aside.

"I know she's a reporter, and I want to be sure she'll never mention us."

"She won't, she knows the rules."

Beth was coming to them and asked to the Cleaner:

"So, is it her who killed the vampire?"

"Yes the fledgling killed the sire."

"But I thought there was a special bound between the sire and the fledgling?"

"Well, it seems that it isn't allways the case."

Beth remembered that Mick had done the same thing and stopped instantly to speak.

Mick was standing back, uneasy, but the Cleaner continued:

"I have to say that I'm quite surprise that it happened to him, because he used to turn only women he had a crush on."

"What?" asked Beth and Mick together.

"You heard me. Anyway, he had another house where he used to take his fledgling to turn them. The woman may be there with the baby." She took a piece of paper and wrote the address down.

"Here. Mick, I want you to call me when you catch that bitch, okay? Not that I'm against feeding from a baby, but trying to turn them, it's just insane."

Cordelia saw Mick nodding and going out with his human. She was a little disappointed because she never thought that he was capable of falling in love with a human. After all he had special rules that prevent him to come close to humans.

She went outside and dialed Josef's number.

"I knew you would call me!"

"Shut up Josef. I was with Mick and his human, some minutes ago-"

"a threesome? I envy you."

"Stop that. I thought that maybe you wanted to be sure he was safe, and far from Coraline."

"Thanks I appreciate. Send me the address."

"Consider it done."

She hang up before he could answer and send the address. The team was finished and they went out of the house. Cordelia looked at it one more time; she had some memories there, old ones, good ones.

* * *

Somewhere else in L.A, Coraline came home and went to her bedroom. She was tired, she hadn't slept much this day. The case with Benjamin Talbot took most of her time, and it didn't interested her much after her meeting with Mick and Beth at the playground. She had what she wanted: he had seen her with an other man and he was beginning to feel jealous again.

She began to undress and went slowly to her freezer, when she saw her brother sitting on it.

"Henri, what do you want?"

"I want to know when we are going to take your husband to our father."

"Soon, very soon, Henry."

"You told me the same thing some days ago. I'm afraid you're not telling me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth. He jumped in my traps, he only have to jump in the last one. He thinks I will help him with the cure. And that's how I'll get him!"

"And when will it be?"

"I only have to call him, Henri. But before I need some rest. I'm very tired. You should do the same thing. And I'll call you when he'll answer my offer. Is it better?"

"Okay. Good night, sister."

"Good night."

Henri left the room and Coraline alone. She felt bad, like if she had bad conscience. _What is happening with me?_ She sat on a armchair next to the freezer, looking into the void. The afternoon sun was shining inside and was stopped in the middle of the room. The light was divided in two, just like her heart. One part knew that her sire would do something bad to him, the other one hoping that she would have Mick back in her life for good. After all, Richelieu never said that he would hurt him. She could feel hope for Mick; if she stayed close to him, nothing wrong would happen. She felt that he was still in love with her, even if Beth was around. The way he reacted when he came to her place, had shown that he still cared for her. When she came to his office, she could have kissed him and she knew that he would have responded. Coraline smiled and hope was back in her heart.

Henri was sitting in the other room feeling her sister. All those feelings in Coraline's heart were pain for him. He had never been so close to his sister, and he never knew that she was so lost in her love for Mick. This case wasn't a good thing for her, Richelieu had gone too far.

Henri had a bad feeling considering the turn of this case; the only thing to do, was to take care of Coraline hoping that nothing would harm her.

* * *

Josef was standing in front of the window of his office, the phone in the hand. _She hang up on me, I can't believe it!_ Then his phone vibrated and showed a new message from Cordelia, that contained an address. His face became serious and he grabbed the phone on his desk. He dialed a number and said a few words; one minute later, a man came in the office, big, tall, a vampire.

"Hanz, I want you to go to this address." He hold out a piece of paper to the tall vampire, who said nothing. "Stay out of sight and keep an eye on those two." Josef gave a picture showing Mick and Beth. "Call me when they leave the address and inform me on all the places they are going to. If he drops the girl, keep on following him and call me. Okay?"

The tall vampire nodded and went out of the office. Josef knew that Coraline was up to something and Hanz was the best way to make sure Mick was safe. If Henri was with Coraline, it was now sure that they were both in L.A to take Mick to France. His fear, the one he felt when he met Richelieu in Fontainebleau was now confirmed. Richelieu had told him that Mick wasn't safe, and now Coraline was there. The only reason of her return was Mick. _How could I thought even a second that she came to thank me?_

Coraline wouldn't let Richelieu hurt Mick, Josef knew that she loved him too much to let him doing that. But even if that was pure insanity, she was completely blind by her love and couldn't see that he had begun to move on. With Coraline alive, Mick would never move completely on, even with Beth around. Josef had to do something to stop her definitely, but was he ready to do the right thing to put an end to this awful relationship?

Josef sat on his desk, lost in his dark thoughts and tried to think to something else. The only thing that could make him happy was business, and Mick was safe with Hanz around. Josef looked at the computer's screen and smiled as he saw the numbers appearing on it.

* * *

The mercedes was driving fast on the roads of L.A, taking the direction of the north, where the sire used to turn the women he liked. Mick and Beth hadn't said a word since they had left the house and the Cleaner. Beth was scared, she knew that Rachel Andrew was really dangerous; she had killed her own sire and kidnapped babies to turn them. Even if they didn't know the reasons why she did that, she was still a danger for humans and vampires. Mick tried to stay concentrated on what would happen. He was anxious for Beth; the vampire wouldn't have any hesitations to kill her. He tried to think of a plan as he drove to the place where he hoped Rachel would be staying with the baby. He felt that Beth was scared too, and it didn't really helped him to concentrate.

The car approached, driving up to the hills. The sun was now just above the sea and the red light reflected on the blue water. The warm light was covering the hills and the luxurous villas which dominated the city. The big white house of Roland Delarnoy appeared and Beth's heart beat faster as she saw the huge villa.

Mick parked the mercedes in front of the portal, so they couldn't be noticed. He looked at Beth and her face was marked by fear. He took her hands in his and looked at her in the eyes:

"You know we are heading to something really dangerous. We have to take the baby safe out of the house. I don't want that Rachel to see you and kill you, so I'll try to take her far enough from the baby, so you can take it out to the car and drive with him to Josef-"

"But what about you Mick?"

"I'll be okay."

"I won't let you alone!"

"If she finds you with the baby, she won't hesistate and kill you! I'll be okay, I'm older than she is, so I'm more powerful."

"o-, okay."

They went slowly to the house, standing in front of them. In another situation, it might have been a wonderful place to visit because of the modern architecture, but considering why they were there, the house looked more like a ghosthouse. The red, purple and orange colors of the sky strengtened the atmosphere, as Beth and Mick approached the place.

Beth's throat and mouth were dry, it was the first time she was really scared, even with Mick around. Mick smelt the air and felt that the vampire had been there not a long time ago. He was now sure that Rachel Andrew was in the house with the baby.

They came silently to the door and before Mick opened it, he looked at Beth to tell her:

"I'm going first inside. I don't want that she smells your human's scent. I'll try to take her out of the room, and when you'll hear me roaring loud, it will be your signal to come in and take the baby. Okay?"

Beth only nodded, she couldn't make a sound.

"You'll be okay Beth." He smiled at her and stroked her cheek with his hand.

She saw him opening slowly the door and coming in, while she stood outside, hoping and praying that the vampire didn't notice her. She heard Mick going inside, hearing him speaking to Rachel: "Rachel, I'm Mick St John, I would like to talk to you." Beth was completely paralysed, and tried to hear what was happening. The house was surely big with many rooms, and she hoped that she would hear Mick's signal and find the baby fast enough. It was still silent inside, and all Beth's senses were concentrated on hearing every noise she could perceive. The time was now different for Beth, seconds were minutes and minutes hours. It seemed like an eternity, when she abruptly heard hard noises. Her heart jumped in her chest; they were surely fighting. Furnitures were broken, walls hit. Beth heard noises like if tigers were ferociously fighting inside. Bodies were falling down from a staircase, and then she recognized it, the feroce roaring from Mick. It was her turn to act.

She came in the house, the eyes wild open to see everything at the same time as she tried to find the baby. It was easier than she thought because she could hear him crying, so she followed the screams. The stress made her forget what was happening around her; she went upstairs, ran through the corridor without looking around, and found a little room with a baby lying in a bed. She took it carefully in her arms and went out of the room. The danger was still close, and she had to get out of the house without being noticed. She tried to calm the baby and stop him crying. It wasn't easy for Beth to calm him down and to think of not being noticed at the same time. Suddenly she could hear the vampire's roaring coming from dowstairs and seemed to be in the garden. She understood that it was now or never; she ran downstairs to the door, when she heared the roaring coming closer. Her heart was beating faster, she hoped that she would get out of the house in time. She could see the door, and as she reached it, she heard a horrible and terrifying scream: "my baby!" There it was, Beth was lost. She ran as fast as she could to the car with the baby holded tight to her chest. As she reached the mercedes she tried to open the door. Her hands were shaking hardly and it was difficult to open it and worse with the baby in her arms. She finaly got in the car and saw, with relief that Rachel wasn't back her as she had thought.

Beth knew that she had to drive directly to Josef, but something in her heart made her stay and wait. Only after one minutes, she heard someone back her and she jumped by surprise:

"I told you not to wait for me!"

She saw Mick standing in front of her and smiled with relief.

"Oh god, you scared me!"

Mick called the Cleaner and told her that the vampire was dead. Beth was holding tight the little baby against her and as if he felt that danger was far away, he finaly calmed down and slept in the warm arms. They waited in the car until the Cleaner and her team came with the white van. The sky was now purple above the hills and lighted the Cleaner who went to Mick so he could show her the body.

Both of them went to the white ghosthouse where the body of the vampire was lying in the middle of the entry hall in a large pool of blood. Mick saw it and felt all the scents of the fight coming to him, _her pallid face, the feral eyes, her fangs in front of the baby… her claws entering in his flesh… the roarings, the hits… both of them falling from the staircase, him holding her neck… Beth going to the door…Rachel hitting him in the ribs… jumping to the door…him jumping on her back… stopping her… Beth running to the car…him grabbing a piece of glass…cuting her throat of…the blood…her heart stopping beating…her eyes begging…a tear falling on her cheek…_

The Cleaner awoke Mick:

"Well, you did a good job, St John. Did she say something?"

"No, not really. I found her in the babyroom, I think she was trying to turn him. I just can imagine that she couldn't forgive herself not having babies. The turning may have been a trauma for her…"

"Anyway, she's dead now, and this is the best thing for her."

Mick went out of the house as the team was occupied cleaning the blood and the furnitures. He came to the car where Beth was waiting for him. He sat inside and looked at her, who was looking at the baby. She turned her face and asked him how they were going to give back the baby. Mick was thinking to call Talbot, but they had to find a good story to explain how they found the baby.

They drove to the police station and asked ADA Talbot who received them in his office. His surprise was difficult to hide when he saw a baby in Beth's arms. As they sat in the office, Mick began to tell the story. The informations from the hospital, the list with all the names, Rachel Andrew missing from two months, her divorce and the baby found in a room in her house, all alone with a note "I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

Talbot looked at them suspiciously. Mick and Beth weren't comfortable because they knew their story wasn't good enough for the attorney, but they had the baby so the case was close. They left the office without the baby and went outside to the mercedes. It was night, the sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly.

The mercedes was now driving to Beth's appartment and this time there was nothing to work on. The case was over, Mick and Beth had nothing else to do; it seemed that they knew what it meant. They hadn't talk since they had left the police department, and Mick was very uncomfortable. He knew he had made her a promise: a picnic on the beach, only both of them, finally alone. But things had happened and Coraline was back. As the car stopped in front of the house, Beth looked at Mick:

"Mick I didn't forget your promise. I don't want to share you with Coraline, so just call me when you'll know what you really want. Don't mess it up."

Mick was astonished by her calm as she spoke, when her heart showed the opposite. He wanted to kiss her and prove her that she was the only one, but she left the car and closed the door. He saw her coming inside and wanted to follow her when his phone rang. It was Coraline.

"Yes?"

"Mick, I have all the answers for you. I want to see you tonight or it will be too late."

His heart was beating fast; finally he would have the answers he waited so long.

"Okay."

"I'll meet you at your appartment in ten. I'm so happy to help you Mick."

He hang up and drove directly to his place without noticing the black Toyota following him to his place.

* * *

Beth opened the door of her appartment. She was completely tired, exhausted. The appartment was calm and silent, the opposite with what she experienced some hours ago. The noises from the fight reflected in her mind, she went to her bedroom where she let herself falling on the bed. Her heart was still beating fast; the tension from the journey was still inside her and her discussion with Mick didn't help to calm her down.

She closed her eyes and images of vampires ran in her head. Then Mick appeared, his face, his lips, his sweet eyes. She began to feel remorse; she saw her last discussion in the car, and imagined herself kissing him passionatly instead of telling him what she said. She opened her eyes and sat straight on the bed. _What's wrong with me?_ Confusion was now the main feeling, thinking that maybe she did wrong. She wanted to go to his appartment, to tell him her feelings and show him that she was there for him.

* * *

Mick walked in the corridor of his building and smelt that Coraline was already there waiting for him. He opened the door and saw her standing in the middle of the living room, in the darkness. The only light came from the outside and made a gold halo around her figure. Mick tried to calm himself, feeling that she was still confusing him. She was approaching slowly and he turned the light on to see her face smiling.

"Hi Mick, I heard that you closed the case."

"How do you know that?"

"Benjamin Talbot told me."

Mick tried to avoid her and went to the kitchen, which disappointed Coraline.

"I'm here to answer all your questions."

"Yes, I know."

"So, what do you want to know?"

Coraline went to the kitchen, where Mick was standing, his side on the island. She was now standing right in front of him.

The door of the elevator opened, the steps went slowly in the corridor hearing voices coming from the appartment. The figure was coming closer to the door, which wasn't completely closed. The hand puched the door, slowly discovering the inside until the view was now on Coraline trying to kiss Mick.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** I think this is the chapter right before the last one! I really loved to describe Coraline, I really like her and feel her pain and I saw in my mind this very sad scene where I was looking at her showing her despair. I hope you'll like the description, Coraline is really interesting to write, and even if I'm looking for something between Mick and Beth, I really feel compassion for Coraline. Thanks to Moonlightaddict, your reviews are great supports to me!!

**A/N IMPORTANT**: I made some changes in the text, I deleted the part with Talbot, so for those who already red this chapter, this part should come later! It's a huge mistake I made, sorry... but it doesn't change things in this story..

**Chapter 12**

The door of the elevator opened, the steps went slowly in the corridor hearing voices coming from the appartment. The figure was coming closer to the door, which wasn't completely closed. The hand pushed the door, slowly discovering the inside until the view was now on Coraline trying to kiss Mick.

"Don't touch him!"

Josef was standing in the entry watching Coraline's lips close to Mick's. The darkness in the room was charged with the feelings of the three vampires; surprise, desire and anger. Coraline's first reaction was to smile, but she could feel that Josef wasn't laughing, she had rarely seen him so serious. Mick was surprised to see his friend at his place; his presence wasn't expected. As he went away from her, Coraline noticed something strange in Mick, something that she first couldn't understand. For the first time since their wedding, Mick felt like a stranger to her. She was looking at him so deeply, searching for an answer; his scent wasn't her anymore, he smelt someone else…

Josef could see that Coraline was deeply smelling of Mick, beginning to understand that something had happened.

"He's no longer your fledgling Coraline."

"What?"

Coraline looked at Josef with surprise and horror.

"I'm his sire now. So leave him alone and go away."

She was completely shocked, everything around her was falling apart. Mick was everything to her: her love, her closest family, her hope for a better life. She was back for him, she was the only one to really love him. She had given him eternal love, eternity with her. She almost died for him. He was the only man she had turned for love, now the only tie she had with him was gone for ever. She felt Josef's scent in Mick's blood, in his skin. He was his fledgling for good, the bond was gone and she was alone again. She was feeling sick, the walls around her were turning slowly. She had to hold herself on the kitchen-island.

"I- I don't understand."

Mick saw that she wasn't well. He felt bad for her; for the first time in his vampire's life, he saw Coraline miserable, sad and lost.

"He had to turn me, Coraline. I had no choice, I had to save-"

"It was to protect the safety of our kind and he needed his vampire's skills."

Coraline looked at the two vampires standing in front of her. She felt like if she was in a strange place, where she wasn't supposed to be. The two men were strangers to her and it made her feel more alone. This solitude was unbearable, she couldn't handle this anymore. Anger grew in her body, she was again betrayed. The mark on her shoulder began to burn, her eyes became iceblue as she saw Josef making a step toward her.

"You have no longer reasons to stay in L.A and you don't have any reason to take Mick with you to France. _He_ won't be interested any longer in Mick since you're not his sire. Go home Coraline, it's over."

Coraline and Josef were looking at each other without noticing that Mick was there, hearing them and completely confused by what Josef had just said. Coraline was furious, Josef knew from the beginning what she intended to do with Mick and he had played with her. She saw Mick's figure standing back Josef; her heart was broken. He wasn't hers longer, he was gone… sadness was hurting her, and turned into anger against Josef.

"You know, Mick, I'm here thanks to your sire. He went to France to save my life, he risked his own life for mine. He saved me many times in fact. Do you know why? Because Josef and I were lovers. He felt in love with me, and I was in love with him. Did he mention that to you? Well your face shows that he didn't. I'm surprised, it was the first time we really felt in love with someone. And I thought that sire and fledgling shared everything. Don't they, Josef?"

Josef's eyes became ice blue and he showed her his fangs: "Leave now Coraline! And never come back!"

Coraline showed hers back and roared. She smiled and walked slowly to the door. As she reached it, she turned and looked at Josef:

"I won't leave! I won't go away so easily, be sure of that!"

The door was closed, Mick and Josef were all alone in the dark apartment. Josef was still vamped up and angry against Coraline. She had said things she would never had had the right to say. Mick was shocked by what he had heard. None of them were moving a hair. The silent took again the power of the place, only the murmur of the cars could be heard. Coraline's scent was still in the air and it preserved her voice which now haunted the place. Only a few minutes ago Mick was alone with Coraline, and now he was here lost and still trying to understand what he had just heard. He lifted up his face and watched Josef.

"Why did you come here?"

"I send one of my men to follow you. I wanted to be sure you were safe and he told me that Coraline was here. I wanted to protect you." Josef went to the couch and sat down.

"What? Why?" Mick followed him and stood in front of him.

"Because I knew Coraline wanted to take you to her sire. He wants to kill you, Mick."

"I don't understand. You knew from the beginning why she was in L.A?"

"I told you to be careful Mick!" Josef's voice was now stronger.

"You hid me that you went to France to save her!"

"It has nothing to do with the fact that I told you to be careful! I knew that you would fall in her trap again, and you did!"

"You don't trust me! Is this the reason why you never told me that you had an affair with my _wife_?"

"It was a long time ago and it doesn't matter anymore."

"Oh no, on the contrary, it's really important! You hid that she was alive! All those years you knew she was alive, and you never told me! You played like you were surprised when she came as a human _and_ you never told me that you were lovers!"

"Because I knew that you wouldn't understand, Mick! His voice was mixed with roaring. Look at you, Mick, you can't stay objective when it involves her!"

"What about the cure?! You lied to me so many times Josef! I can't trust you anymore!"

"Don't do that Mick. Don't you see that it's exactly what she wants?"

"You always lay the responsibility at her! Be honest for one time!"

Josef got up from the couch and stood in front of Mick. Only the table was between them.

"Okay, you want the truth? Yes I loved her! Yes I slept with her! Yes I knew she was alive when you burnt her! And yes I saved her when she was in France! But I care for you and I don't want her to hurt you."

"Get out!"

"What?"

"You heard me. I don't want to see you again."

"You're crazy Mick, you know that, you're crazy, man."

"GET OUT!" Mick was now roaring.

Josef, shocked, looked at his friend obviously serious. He walked to the door and without looking at Mick said: "You're making a mistake man." He left the appartment leaving Mick all alone.

* * *

She came in her house, furious. All her nerves, muscles, even her skin were burning. Her eyes were still ice blue and she could still feel her fangs.

Coraline stood in the middle of her livingroom in the beautiful villa of glass. She looked all around and everything reminded the very night when she met Mick for the first time. The lights, the guests, the music and him.

She took the Baccarat's vase on the table and threw it on the floor. She saw Mick holding the microphone in his hands and looking at her. The pain and the anger were burning and broking her heart in pieces. She took every things next to her and threw them down. She took a pillow but her claws riped it off.

All the livingroom was a disaster: the feral vampire was standing between the broken things, her hair shaggy. The beautiful french lady was now a monster. Even with all the things she had destroyed, she still felt angry.

Despair, sadness, fear of loneliness made her blood pulling hard in her veins. Coraline wanted those feelings away, but she couldn't. They were there, rooted in her. Mick had softened them, but they always had been there.

Images of his sweet face, his smile, his scent were running through her mind. She wanted them out; she put her hands on her temples and pressed her head hard, hoping that they would explode and be free. But they weren't, the images were even brighter, his kisses, his sweet body, his voice…

Tears were running on her cheeks burning her skin. Physical and mental pains were overwhelming Coraline. And in the darkness of the devastated house, the monster screamed. Her scream was so loud and so full of pain that the glass walls around her exploded in pieces.

He walked in what used to be a villa of wonderful architecture. His step made the glass pieces creaking under his expensive shoes. He could recognize the place but with difficulty. Everything was broken. One could have thought that it had been war. It looked like no one was inside, but Henri could feel her. She was still there, somewhere in the mess. He made some steps further in the livingroom and saw her lying down with smal glass pieces in her skin.

Her breath went fast and he was feeling her deep pain. It broke his heart to see her like that. In front of his eyes, laied exactly what he had feared. His beloved sister was gone. The vampire lying on the floor was a dead and despaired body asking for love and freedom. The old Coraline was now a ghost, a memory.

"Oh Coraline, what happened to you?" His voice echoed in the ravaged place. He kneeled down next to his sister. She was looking into the void, crying silently. Her irise was almost white and her cornea yellow.

"You need blood." He went to the kitchen and found a bottle of blood. He came back to his sister, still lying on the floor. With one hand, he lifted her up and the other one tried to pour it in her mouth. Her yellow eyes turned red and Henri felt that she regained her powers. He made her rise up and drove her slowly upstairs. "You need to rest, sister."

He laied her in the freezer and went out next to the swimming pool. The house was completely destroyed, glasses were all over, on the floor, inside, outside. Henri was really worried for Coraline. He had never seen her like that. Something really bad had happened and he couldn't guess what.

He looked at the stars and the sky showed that morning was coming. Henri tried to think of what he could do for his sister and lost his eyes in the calm and immaculate sky.

* * *

Josef went to his room and threw his jacket on the chair next to his freezer. He was upset, Coraline had messed up. She was even more crazy than what he had thought. She was clearly mad at him, but the turning wasn't his fault, he had no choice. And not noticing that it was for Beth, was the best thing he had done this evening. It could had made Coraline all feral.

He sat on the chair and looked down. Mick… his only friend… what did she do? She had said things that he knew Mick would never forgive. Mick wasn't ready to know everything about the common past he shared with Coraline. It was their life and he didn't want Mick to know all the details; it was painful enough for him. Mick was still crazy about her; it wasn't love anymore. It had been, once, but now it was only insanity. Coraline was like a drug to Mick, and he was still addicted.

Now Coraline had succeeded to divide them. It wasn't only for jealousy, but she knew that Mick would not forgive Josef. And without him, Mick was vulnerable and easy to hurt.

Even if Mick didn't want to see him anymore, Josef had to protect him and Beth. He thought of what he would do later to end to this awful story. He undressed in the coming morning and went in his cold freezer, his mind still disturbed by the events.

* * *

Mick was standing between the armchairs and the couch looking at the door. He hadn't move since Josef had left the appartment. The memory of Coraline completely miserable and sad made him feel bad for her. Mick realised that the turning situation had really hurt her, like if she was miserable to lose him. He had never thought that it could have disturbed her; but that reaction from her, that he had never seen before, made him realised that Coraline loved him truly. He was feeling however completely lost and could almost not understand what had just happened to him.

The case had just been closed, he had driven Beth home and met Coraline there hoping for some answers. Instead of that, Mick had even more questions in his mind. Chaos happened and he lost at the same time hope for the cure and his best friend. Snatches of what Coraline had said, came back to his mind. _He went to France to save my life, … because Josef and I were lovers.. He felt in love with me… and I was in love with him… it was the first time we really felt in love with someone._

Then Josef's voice took place in his thoughts and Mick was still trying to understand what he had just heard. Coraline, his wife, and Josef, his best friend, had been together, had been lovers. It felt wrong, weird, bad. All those years, when he was sharing his feelings with Josef, it was for nothing. The only one he ever trusted was a liar.

Mick saw the sky beginning to brighten through the stairs; it was almost morning and he felt that his body was tired, still angry, but he needed to sleep and think of all that with a cleared mind.

* * *

She opened her eyes and saw the lid of her freezer. Slowly all the memories of the day before came back in her mind. It was still hurting, but she had to do something to put an end at this pain.

She went out of the freezer and found Henri sitting in the shadow of a corner next to the swimming pool. With daylight, the mess was worse than she had thought.

Henri saw her coming and smiled gently at her.

"Do you feel better?"

"No, I don't." Her voice was completely broken.

"What happened Coraline?"

Coraline stood in front of her brother sitting on a chair that had survived her storm.

"Mick isn't my fledgling anymore."

"How could this be possible?"

"Josef turned him when he was human again. I guess that if he had died of a natural death, he would have still been in our bloodline. But the turning gave him a new blood."

Coraline looked down, her voice was now sad and low. "I could smell it Henri. He smelt like Josef, he was like a stranger to me."

Tears were running on her cheek that she instantly brushed with her hand.

"I'm so sorry Coraline. I know that he meant a lot to you, that you truly loved him."

Coraline still looked down, her heart was heavy to bring.

"I think we should go home, Coraline. You and me."

She lifted her eyes, surprised and looked at Henri.

"This return wasn't a good idea. Look at you. We don't have any reasons to take him with us to our father. He's not from our bloodline anymore. You said it so. Father will understand."

"I won't go Henri!"

"We have no reason to stay! And look at you, you are suffering like hell here."

"I won't go without him Henri!"

"He won't come with you. Look at reality Coraline. He moved on and began a new life, so should you."

Henri stood up and took one of her hand.

"Come on Coraline, we will be better in France. It's our home."

"Mick is my home!" She took her hand back and went to the living room. She stopped at the window and turned to her brother:

"I will take him back and I know how!"

Henri watched his sister walking in the living room. Her figure was no more the delicate figure of the seductive woman he knew, but the walk of a predator.

* * *

Beth woke up in her bed still dressed with the clothes she had the day before. Her head was heavy, just like a day after a good party. The daylight coming through her bedroom's blinds was to bright for her sleepy eyes. She stoop up and as she walked to the bathroom, the phone rang. She looked at her cellphone and the screen showed Talbot's name. She hesitated a second, but she answered the call:

"Beth Turner.

-Uh, hi, it is Benjamin Talbot from the D.A's office.

-Yes, good morning, what can I do for you?

-Well, I was reading the report concerning Rachel Andrew's case, and I have some questions.

Beth began to feel nervous, what if he didn't believe what they had told him?

-We already told you everything.

-Yes, I know, but I need to clarify some few things, so could you tell Mick St John that I need to see you both?

-o- okay. I'll call him.

-Thank you miss Turner. Bye

-Bye."

She looked at her cellphone, completely anxious. She had to go to Mick's place and find a way to end this case. She took a look at the time, it was early and he was surely still sleeping. A visite after lunch would do it.

After lunch Beth took her car and drove to Mick's appartment. When she went out of the elevator, she heard nothing from his place, and hoped that he wasn't still sleeping. She was a little nervous, because she had been cold with him when he droped her to her house. She had told him to take contact with her only when he was sure of his feelings, and now she was there in front of his door; it was an awkward situation for her. She took a deep breath hoping that he wouldn't feel her anxiousness and knocked at the door.

Mick opened the door and was quite surprised to see her so soon, and he wasn't ready to see her after what happened with Josef and Coraline. He let her coming in and noticed that she was nervous.

"Talbot called me this morning. He wants to see both of us."

Mick had enough with his problems and had thought that the case was over. Thinking that he had to talk of that again, bored him. "We told him everything already."

"I know, but he said that he had to clarify some few things. So I thought that we could think again of the version we gave and be sure that when we'll going there, it will definitely close the case."

Mick didn't want to go there and talk to that Talbot. He was still thinking of Josef's lies and was worried about Coraline. Josef's last sentence made him also asking himself new questions about her.

"Listen, the case is over. I have things to do on my own, so why don't you just go there alone and tell him what he wants to know. I don't have time for this."

Beth stood in front of him, completely surprised.

"What? I can't go there alone. I don't know what to say, she was a vampire! So it is your business not mine. And anyway, what is going on with you?"

"Nothing. It's just that I don't have time for all this. So just go and help him clarify things."

Mick went to the door and opened it. Beth was silent, surprised, shocked by his attitude.

"Did I say something wrong yesterday? Are you punishing me?"

"What? no." Mick realised that he had completely forgot what he had promised her. His problems with her, made him see that he was in the middle of a big mess involving all the people he cared for. That made him nervous and scared him.

"Everything doesn't turn around you Beth. I have other things to do. So just go."

"It's Coraline, isn' it? Well, it seems that you made your choice! I never thought that you would be so stupid Mick and especially how you talk to me, after all what happened between us. You're right everything doesn't turn around me, so I'll leave you. Don't even try to reach me, ever!"

Beth went out and heard the door closing behind her. She walked fast to the elevator feeling emotions coming up. Hopefully it was waiting for her, so she jumped in and as the doors closed, her tears falled out. What had happened to him? He was so gentle the night before and now he was so cold, almost angry. Something bad had happened and there was only one way to know it.

She went slowly to her car and dried her tears. She decided to go to the only one who could help her.

Josef was in his office, finding a way to be sure that Coraline would not do something more stupid, when he heard some footsteps in the corridor. He instantly recognized them and felt that something was wrong. It was confirmed when he saw her face; she had cried. He could smell the salt from her tears that she had tried to hide with some make-up.

"What a surprise. What can I-

"She's back for him. You have to help me to stop her Josef."

There he had his answer; Coraline. Her again, her always. He began to hate what she did around her. He felt that Beth was really anxious both in her voice and in her mind.

"How do you know she's back for him?"

"So she is! We saw her when we were investigating on a vampire and Mick became completely strange. Before she came back he was happy. I remember him at Josh's funeral full of hope, he even…"

Josef smiled, he could guess what she was going to say.

"He even kissed me."

"Yes, I know, on the beach."

Beth looked at him, her mouth wild open of surprise.

"What? I'm his friend, he told me." _Well used to be…_ "And so?"

"Well, since she's back, he is nervous and today I went to his appartment because of something with the ADA, and he was so different. He was cold and he almost threw me away." Beth's voice went down.

That's why she cried.

"Beth, I can't explain you why Coraline is really back, it's vampire-"

"-business, I already heard that before."

"Yes, it is. But he really cares for you. He just needs to work things out. It is really difficult to him. His wife, that he loves, now you, that was kidnapped by her. Well it's too many things for him. I'll take care of him. Don't be scared, he'll come back to you."

He felt that Beth was beginning to feel better and believe what he was saying.

"Just go home and do your job, Mick is my business."

"Okay. Thanks, I guess."

He watched her leaving the office. He was sad for her, because she was in the middle of something that went completely out of her hand. Mick had screwed up things with her, and everything because of Coraline.

Josef went to his desk and thought that it was time to find Coraline. It wasn't possible to talk to Mick of Beth; first because he was still mad at him, then because he wouldn't understand why Beth came to him. Coraline had no reason to take Mick back, but in some ways Josef felt that she wasn't going to stop so easily. _"I won't leave! I won't go away so seasily, be sure of that!"_ Josef had to find her before she would do something horrible.

* * *

Beth came home. She was exhausted, all those emotions that happened the day after the horrible meeting with Rachel Andrew, had drained her. She remembered that she forgot to call back Talbot, but she thought that she needed to rest. She wasn't in the mood to talk of this awful case.

It was late afternoon, almost evening and Beth was sitting on her couch looking at her door, hoping that Mick would come and apologize. She wasn't hungry, she forgot all notions of time and tried to do as Josef had told her.

Finally she went to her bedroom. She took off her clothes and went to bed. The sheets on her body, the tender pillow and the thick duvet made her forget all the bad things. She felt like a child and her body began to relax. It made her feel safe, so safe that she felt slowly asleep. She didn't hear the lock of the window and the shadow coming in, but she felt a hand on her mouth and when she suddenly opened her eyes, she saw an old image coming back from darkness.

"Hi Beth, I'm back, for you."

Coraline sat a piece of cotton on her nose and saw Beth losing consciousness. She took her body in her arms and left the apartment as silently as she came in.


	13. Chapter 13

Hi everyone!!  
This is the last chapter of my very first story... and I'm quite sad it's allready finished.. :(  
I wanted to thank all the readers, those who just read and especially those (Moonlightaddict) who left reviews after all my chapters! It made me really happy! I wanted to thank Ancholia, my dear beta and friend and MLF4E who betaed some of my chapters :)  
This chapter is really long, it's actually the first time I write so many pages for just one chapter :blink: , so excuse all the faults..:blush:  
The end is very sad and I hope you'll be okay with my point of view. Writing about Coraline was really exciting and it made me like her character more and more!

Chapter 13- Final

We can't really say that vampires sleep; they mostly need to rest their body in their freezer from the attacks of the day, and especially for those who spend their time to live at daylight. Mick St-John was one of them. To stay awoke all day long was a way for him to remember how it felt to be a human. After the cure wore off, it was even more difficult for him to stay in his freezer at daylight. The case had hold him awake day and night, and the return of Coraline hadn't really helped him to rest.

So this morning, when Mick St-John opened his eyes in his freezer, he didn't feel quite fresh. Many questions had run in his head all night long. The worst part was what he had said to Beth. How could he say those things to her? The tone he had used was echoing in his head and made him feel really bad.

He opened the freezer and went to the shower. Beth's face haunted him; she had been completely shocked by his attitude toward her. She came as a friend and he talked to her like a bastard. The cold water, which usually relaxed him, wasn't helping. He was tensed, all this situation with Coraline, Josef and now Beth made him realize that he was completely alone. Coraline had left the appartment in a sad way, he had thrown Josef out and had been an asshole to Beth. Now he was all alone, without friends to speak to and the only one who had given him happiness back was hurt because of him.

Her blue eyes, they were so surprised, sad. Then he realized it; he didn't pay attention to that then, but now he could feel it, see it. Beth had cried. She had run to the elevator and cried. He could smell it in the air. The images of Beth, his Beth, crying broke his heart. It wasn't her fault if Coraline had said all those awful things. He had to drive to her place and tell her all that.

The mercedes drove to the appartment. He had made this way so many times. Some months ago, he was having his lonely P.I's life, but one night she was back in his life, walking barefoot in the cold water. They had experienced many things, some nice and some others sad. She had let him enter her life and he had opened new doors in his heart to her. Josh's death had been sad but at the same time, it was synonym of hope. The prest's speech that day at the funeral made him understand that she was his future and he had shown it on the beach, when he had kissed her. She had been the one showing her feelings all those weeks, but then he was the one who kissed her. He was the one showing that she was welcome in to his life.

As he drove thinking of Beth, Coraline was no more a problem. Even if he had felt bad for her, he knew there could be a way to help her to begin a new life without him. The most important thing for him now was to say to Beth that he had finaly made his decision. He wanted to be with her, he loved her. All the things that happened at his appartment with Josef and Coraline were no longer important. He wasn't mad at Josef anymore, and he forgot all his worries for Coraline that he had never seen like that before. It didn't matter anymore. Mick was only thinking of Beth.

He stopped his car and went to the house. As he walked in the corridor, he was thinking of what he would say to Beth, hoping that she would forgive him. The door number five was there, the one he had knocked on so many times to see her opening it smiling at him. He knocked at the door like all the times before, but this time, there was no answer. He tried one more time, thinking that maybe she was sleeping; after all Beth used to sleep late at morning. But no, she wasn't there. That was strange, he thought, Beth wasn't working early in the morning, so he tried to open the door. It was closed and as he came in, he felt the emptiness. Everything was silent. No shower, no Beth on the bed, no one. Then he smelt it and his heart jumped. It couldn't be possible. It couldn't be that scent, not hers, not here! He walked in the bedroom and the scent was stronger. There weren't any doubts now, Coraline had been there. The scent was quite fresh, from some hours ago.

Mick smelt the bed. He could smell Beth lying on it. Sadness. She had lied on her bed, so sad, because of him. Then he smelt Coraline's scent coming from the window. Anger. He could see her walking to the bed, looking at Beth, taking her in her arms and going out. The scents were strong, not only because they were fresh; they were showing strong emotions. Fear, sadness, anger and despair. The same emotions than he had felt 23 years ago…

…Beth, standing in front of the desk, looking at him coming in. "It's alright, I'm here, it's alright". The darkness surrounded the place, only the little lamp on the desk and the one in his hand were giving living light in this dark house. But the light was also the one that revealed Coraline holding herself on the beam as Beth lifted her face and looked at her to show him where she was.

_Coraline, as a ghost, floated slowly down in her white gown looking at him in the eyes. Her gesture were as light as the air; if she wasn't a vampire, one could have thought that she was an angel. She took the little Beth by the shoulders, holding the girl close to her, like if she was her own daughter._

_In her sweetest voice she told him "I knew you would come", still holding the scared blond girl tight. The candle was lighting her beautiful face, hiding the demon that was inside her._

"_Here we are Mick, finaly one happy family." Her eyes were begging him to accept, they were full of hope, that he would accept this little girl as their child. She was standing in front of him, caressing the soft chin of Beth, like a protective mother would have done with her child._

"_Everything is going to be alright." His voice was broking the scary silence. He had said that to reassure the little girl, to calm his wife and convince himself. He looked at his wife trying to stop her doing the worst: "you're not gonna do this." But she was so sure that it would bring him back: "It will work Mick" her fangs appearing from her sweet, red lips "you, me and baby." She was begging him with her most tender eyes. If he had not known her, he would have believed her. But she wasn't that sweet woman. "No! I'm not going let you hurt that girl."_

_She felt the hand pushing her aside. That man was there to help her, his voice had something safe, secure "I can't let you". As she reached a safe, dark corner, she could hear a strange, scaring sound. The darkness made it even more scary to her. She saw the woman pushing hard the man to the wall. That woman was stronger than a man. Then she saw it, the man kneeled, lifting his face, she saw his eyes becoming like ice and his mouth opening like the wolf in the fairytale, showing his fangs. He jumped on the woman and they broke a beam._

_She was sitting silently in her corner, hearing growls like lions, trying to see what was happening. Then she saw the man's figure thrown to the wall, the two monsters standing in front of each other. The woman grabbing a chair that she broke on the man, like if it was paper, him throwing the woman to the wall._

_She was looking at them, forgetting everything else. She knew her life depended on which of the two monsters would win. One of the lantern was hardly lighting the scary scene, while the other one was lying on the floor, broken. The woman was now violently clawing at the man. It was too scary, she hid her face in her hands. But the sounds were worse, she had to see what was happening. _

_The woman was biting the man in his neck, he groaned, it hurted him. As he pulled her face off, she could see the woman's face covered by blood. Another beam broke; she heard the woman screaming, she was now afraid, like herself. Then she saw him, she saw him driving something in the woman's chest, and the silent came back._

_She saw the man coming to her, his face was back to normal, sweet and with his safe voice, he told her: "Come on, I'm gonna take you home." She knew that she would be safe with him, that he would bring her back to her mum. She was lifted in his strong arms and as they went out, she saw the flammes covering everything, cleaning every mark of the fight like if it never happened. Then she saw it, the woman, that had kidnapped her, appearing at the window, suffering, begging from help, her mouth wild opened showing her long scaring fangs…_

… She woke up, from that bad dream. The last time she had made this nightmare was after being saved by Mick from the serial killer student. But that time she had woken up on his couch. Beth tried to recover from this awful memory, and her head was fuzzy, heavy.

She wasn't lying in her bed, but lying on a floor. Beth tried to look around but everything was dark, no lights were coming out from the place. She began to freeze and saw that she was only wearing her pyjamas. Something was strange. That wasn't what she expected as a waking. She concentred and tried to remember what had happened. The first thing that came back in her mind was Mick telling her to leave. She felt her heart still broken. She remembered then that she had went to Josef's place and then home again. Now images were confused and she put all her energy to remember what had happened after that. She saw herself going to bed, the good feeling of the sheets on her skin she had felt in her bed after all the sadness from her meeting with Mick. Then she remembered. The hand on her mouth, the figure, the voice! _"Hi Beth, I'm back, for you."_

Everything made sense now. She had been kidnapped by Coraline, again. She understood now the nightmare she just had. She was experiencing again her biggest traumatism. Beth tried to stay calm and see where she was. It was impossible to see something. The darkness was hunting every hope of light. She tried to concentrate and use her other senses. She closed her eyes and open her ears. There were no sounds to be heard, only the air brushing softly her face. So she tried to smell all around. The first scent that came to her was the humidity, strong and almost mouldy. It wasn't really helping, but she concentrated more on them. Then she began to feel it, yes, it was the smell of damp and mouldy wood.

* * *

Josef was coming back from a meeting he had had for his business. It had been a good break for him, making him thinking of something else than Mick, Coraline and Beth.

He went out of his Ferrari and walked to his building. The king was back in his fortress and no one could perceive that for the first time, the king was doubting of himself. He walked out from the elevator and as he reached his office, his cellphone rang.

Josef wasn't in the mood to speek to anyone, but as he saw the name on the screen, he didn't hesitate to answer the call.

"Yes Hanz?"

"Sir, I'm parked in front of miss Turner's appartment. I did as you told me and followed mister St-John."

_Good he went there and talked to her _"And?"

"Well, I call because his face was completely shocked."

"What do you mean by shocked? Like after some bad news or something?" _She may have stood him up._

"I don't know, but not like a bad news. More like someone who just found a dead body."

"WHAT?" _God what is happening?!_

"Where is he now?"

"He's sitting in his car, looking down."

"Okay, go to the apartment number five, and try not to be seen by him. I'm staying on line."

Josef went to his desk and sat down, still holding his phone near his ears. He could hear Hanz walking in the corridor. His heart was beating fast, Josef was scared for Beth and for his friend. If Beth was dead, he didn't know what Mick was able to do, but certainly the worst.

"Sir?"

"Yes."

"The door is open."

"Just go in."

He was living everything on live, just like if he was at the place, opening himself the door. Hanz' steps were echoing in the appartment.

"There's no one there, sir."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I looked in every room and there is no one to be found."

Then Josef could feel Hanz making a pause. He was smelling the air.

"A vampire has been here."

"What do you mean? It's Mick, he just got out from the place."

"No, an other one sir."

God, please don't tell me it's her.

"It's a woman's scent, sir. A vampiress. I can smell fear and anger. That vampire has taken miss Turner. She came in from the window of the bedroom and took miss Turner. I can smell that they went out through the same window."

Oh no. She did it. Again.

"Okay, I know who did this, Hanz. Just get back to your car. I hope, he's still waiting in his mercedes."

He hung up and put his hand, holding the phone, on his table. He just had experienced in live the kidnapping of Beth. Coraline had told them that she would not leave easily. What he had feared had just happened. She was capable of everything and knowing that she had taken Beth with her was no relief. On the contrary, Beth was in a great danger. Coraline had kidnapped her to punish Mick and by the same way, to punish him. He knew that Mick would reproach him the death of Beth.

The cellphone rang again and as Josef saw it was Hanz, he answered the call.

"Yes Hanz?"

"Sir, Mick's gone when I was in the appartment."

Josef hung up, his heart was jumping in his breast. He didn't had time and he had to find a way to rescue Beth before Mick. It wasn't the time to think, but time of acting. Josef grabbed his other phone and asked for someone. One minute later, a tall big man came in.

"Chris, I need you to find someone for me and we don't have time, somebody's life is in danger."

Chris was the new hacker working for Josef. Since Ryder was far away, he still needed some people who knew everything about the web system. Chris was a vampire too, and really alike Ryder. Josef was quite severe upon the look of the people who worked for him. And before Chris was under Josef's services, he looked more like a teenager; a fat hacker with long hair, who never had seen a shower. Now he was a completely new vampire. This place was just perfect for him, free freshblood, nice place, great salary and he was paid to do illegal stuff. But this day, he could see on Josef's face, that it was a really important thing, not only business. This time he understood that it was personal.

He sat in front of his three-screens' computer and looked at his boss without asking anything.

"I want you to find everything about Coraline de la Fressange. The name she used when she married Mick was Duvall. So find informations on those two names; where she was seen last time, with who, everything."

"Okay sir."

"Oh and by the way, try to find her brother Henri de la Fressange. If you find him, you'll find her!"

Josef was hoping that it wouldn't take too long, but Coraline was a careful vampire and he knew it wouldn't be easy to find something about her. He went to the window behind his desk and looked at the city, wishing that Beth was still alive. He knew that he had waited too long to act against Coraline, but he had never thought that she was capable of hurting Beth again. He thought that, maybe she would have tried to hurt him directly. After all he was the one who turned her fledgling. It showed that she was more affected by the fact that Mick wasn't hers anymore, and no more in love with her, than he had actually turned him. Josef didn't know what to think of that. But for now, he had to find both of them.

* * *

She woke up again, her head feeling less heavy, but this time it was the cold that had awoken her. She tried to warm up herself but the place was too damp. The fear wasn't helping Beth to warm up. She was shivering like hell. She had been kidnapped and in danger many times because of her cases with Mick, but now it was different. Now it was directly against her, against who she was and who she loved.

She was holding her knees close to her chest, trying to save her warmth. She looked around, trying to see where she was, but the darkness was still surrounding her. It was strange though, it was like if someone had cast a spell on the place, because her eyes couldn't get used to the darkness and see anything.

Then she suddenly heard something, a noise coming from outside, coming closer. Someone was walking in. Beth hold her breath as she heard the sound really close. Then she saw her, her figure in the shadow. As Coraline was coming in, the light came in the place too. It was no longer dark; the vampiress was holding a lantern like the one Mick had when he had saved her, the lights coming from outside were first too violent for Beht's tired eyes. But slowly she looked around and as Coraline came smiling to her, she recognized the place.

"Do you remember, Beth?"

Yes, she did. They were at the house where Coraline had brought her to turn her into a baby vampire and that Mick had burned.

* * *

He was looking down, shocked, hoping that it was just a dream. The emotions from the room was still surrounding him. The fear that he had smelt from the bed where Beth was lying; anger as Coraline came in the room and sadness; sadness everywhere in the house. In the livingroom where Beth had waited so long hoping he would come, in her bed as she tried to sleep and think that things would be better and most surprising. Sadness coming from the window. The strongest one was coming from the outside, from Coraline. Her sadness was bitterer, heavier than Beth's. He had felt her despair gnawing at her heart, grief enveloping her figure, suffering and bereavement. Mick had never felt so much pain in someone before. He never had thought that Coraline could suffer that much and it made her more dangerous to herself and to Beth.

His hands were on the steering wheel, pressing it hard. Images of Beth were running in his mind; when she was only four, as he saved her. She was in his arms and she had felt safe there; she was holding him tight, she was so young and no more afraid because she was with him.

He remembered her when she was sixteen, the day he took the picture of her riding. It had been five years without seeing her and it was soon her birthday so he had gone to her house to see how she was. As his car was coming closer to the house, he saw that her mother was driving her somewhere. He had followed their car to that beautiful place outside town. He waited some time in the mercedes to be sure not to be noticed and he had seen her coming out from the stable, holding her horse and smiling. She was so happy. A friend of her was following her. He remembered that he had waited two hours, sitting on the hood of his car, looking at the prairie. Then he had seen her coming from the forest galloping and she was smiling. He had taken a picture and she hadn't noticed him because she was looking and smiling at her mother. It was good to see her safe and happy of living.

Then images from that very night, seeing her walking barefoot in the cold water, holding her shoes in her hand. She had just seen a dead body but she didn't seemed to be surprised. She was walking in his direction thinking aloud at her article. It was her first important report and it was the one that had bring her back to his life. As she had seen him standing in front of his car, she had instantly felt something that he would never forget: she remembered him. Not exactly remembered who he was, but in her heart she had not forgot him. She had asked him directly if they knew each other and even if he had answered no, she had insisted. It was also that night she had used a word that would change her life forever; _vampire_. At this moment neither him or her knew they would experience so many things involving vampires, and Mick didn't know then that some weeks later she would save his life and see him as a vampire and let him enter her life.

As he thought that, he pressed harder the steering wheel. He had to find Coraline. He started up his car and drove directly to the only one who could help him. He stopped in front of the building and went to the basement.

Logan was playing with his new game du jour as he saw Mick on the monitor's screen. He opened the door and heard his step coming closer.

"Hi Mick, is your human friend with you?"

There was no answer. Logan paused his game and looked at Mick. He noticed that his face was blank and felt something was wrong.

"I need you to find her Logan."

"What do you mean? Don't you have her phone number or something?"

"It's serious! She has been kidnapped!"

Logan felt bad, he was always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. He had really to learn to think before he spoke. He sat in front of his computer and looked at Mick.

"Do you know who did that?"

"Yes, I want you to find everything about Coraline Duval."

"Coraline? Your wi-" _God, I need to think before I speak…_

"Find all the places she ownes, it could be one of them where she keeps Beth."

Logan wrote names on the computer and opened many differents windows to be sure to find many informations at the same time. Mick was standing behind him. Usually he hated when people were looking at him doing his research, but this time it was different, and he could see that Mick was in a really bad shape.

"Okay I found something. There is a house where some of us have seen him."

Josef woke up from his thoughts and lifted his head. Chris was looking at him. He went closer to the computers, stood back Chris and read the address.

"I know this place. Did you find other places?"

"Well there is an apartment downtown, but Henri had not been seen there for a while. Coraline has moved from the house to the apartment many times those few weeks, but the house seems to be the main place. I can tell you that Henri has been seen there two days ago, and so Coraline."

"Thanks Chris, keep searching. I'll call you when I'll get there, if I don't find them. So be ready."

"Of course, sir."

Josef went outside his dark office and took the keys of his Ferrari. He knew he hadn't much time. His housekeeper waited for him in front of the door with a glass in his hand. Josef smiled and took the glass. Hopefully there was someone in this house thinking of his health. He drank in one mouthful the blood and opened the door.

* * *

His steps were echoing in the house. She had left the house and he had no idea where she could be or what she was doing. Henri looked around the house that used to be one of the most beautiful in the area. He remembered that Coraline had told him that she had hired the most popular architect to build this villa. She was so happy and proud to show her power. He was in France then, always had and he was happy to receive such news from his beloved sister. It was in this house she had met her husband, and he remembered the reactions of his brothers when they discovered that she had married and turned a simple man with no connections. Henri was the only one to be happy for her. She had finally found love and someone that really loved her for what she was. Of course, Henri did not know everything about how she got married and how her husband had been turned, but it didn't matter for Henri. Coraline was happy; that was all that mattered.

He was going in the destroyed living-room trying to think how she had done all that mess. He could see her lying desperate on the floor, and it made him still sad for her. His look was lost in the mess, thinking of her and what he had to do to have the old Coraline back, when he suddenly saw a door.

There are a few things in life that surprise ordinary people but not vampires. But there are things that even vampires can't see and which can surprise them like humans; you can have been in the same place in many days, weeks, months or years, without seeing a thing nevertheless standing right in front of your nose and one day discovering that it always has been there. That door was one of those things. Henri had been in this house many times since he came from France, but he had never noticed that a door was there. Was it the mess in the house that revealed it? Or maybe that he was lost in his mind? He went to the dark door and opened it slowly. He was nervous as he discovered black stairs going down.

Henri went downstairs, his steps echoing in the stairwell, which accentuated the silence in the place. When he came downstairs, he discovered a new room that surprised him. It was a child room, a girl's room. The walls were covered by white curtains with sweet leaf on them, and pictures of carousel's horses. In the right corner there was a shelf with many teddybears and a bigger one with books. In the middle was standing a little white table with chairs and a little pink electric cooker. On the left side, there was a beautiful white bed. The perfect white and pink girl's room.

Henri was walking in the room, trying to understand why there was such a room in his sister's house. Did she have wanted children? Why? She was a vampire, so she couldn't have children! Was it a way to make her think that it would be a child there one day? As Henri was lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice that someone else, a vampire, was standing behind him, on the black stairs.

"She kidnapped a little girl and hold her here, before she tried to turn her."

Surprised, Henri looked back and saw Josef standing right in front of him. Henri said nothing, he was shocked by Josef's presence in the house, which wasn't a good thing, and by what he had said, hoping that it was just a lie.

"23 years ago, Coraline kidnapped a girl, named Beth. She wanted to have Mick back, hoping that having a child would help their couple."

"You lie!"

"No I don't and you can feel I'm right. Their marriage was and always has been a disaster. I told her it was a mistake, but she didn't want to listen to me. She turned him against his will and he never forgave her."

Henri didn't move, he just received the words on his face, like a gunshot. Coraline had done to Mick what she had done to him. This turning reminded him his own. But it couldn't be the Coraline he knew; she was really in love with this man.

"She was in love!"

"Yes she was, and he was in love too. But Coraline has always had issues with feelings. What she used to be before she was turned, and what she has done in the past, before she met him, felt in love with him, made that she never understood what she really had to do."

Henri didn't say a word. He couldn't believe that; he knew that she must have had a good reason to that. After all he knew her better than that Josef Konstan.

"Coraline is making the same mistake today. She is in danger, another woman is in danger too. You have to tell me where she is. I can help her. I can help you. I know that you are scared for her. Let me know where she is."

"I don't understand what you mean. I don't know where she is. She just left." Henri made a break. "She was devasted after she knew that you turned her husband."

"You're sure you don't know where she is?"

"I am telling you the truth. Don't you feel it!" Henri was now angry. He showed him his fangs. He didn't like how Josef was talking to him. He felt though that Josef was concerned, but it made him even more worried for Coraline, his beloved Coraline.

"I don't want to hurt her. I just want her to go back to France with you. I know your sire very well, and I'm sure he'll understand that she couldn't take her husband back."

Henri agreed with Josef. His father might be a dangerous man, but he was a fair man. He would understand that this new turning was unexpected and would change everything. It was, in fact, a good thing that Josef Konstan had turned Coraline's husband. No one would be hurt, and that gave Henri a feeling of relief.

Josef could see that Henri agreed with him, but Coraline was still a danger for Mick and Beth, and Henri should know that he was capable of anything to save his best friend and the human.

"Coraline is very disturbed, her feelings are very confused. She's very hurt as you know. So I have to tell you that I would do anything to stop her. Anything."

"Please, don't kill her. I will take her back to our family and she'll stay there. I promise you. Just don't kill her. She's the only one I care about on this stupid earth."

* * *

The silence and the darkness surrounded her again. Beth was alone in the cold, burnt house. She was still sitting on the floor and shivered. She was colder; fear became stronger and stronger. She understood that something bad, really bad would happen to her. She had known it as she reminded her kidnapping, but seeing Coraline there a few minutes ago, gave her the proof that she wasn't safe anymore.

Coraline had looked at her with a cold, angry look. She was mad at her, and she didn't know why. Though Beth knew that Coraline couldn't forgive her for loving Mick, but there was something else that she couldn't feel. After the death of Josh, she had seen Coraline at Mick's apartment and she didn't seem so mad at her then. Mick had said at the funeral that Coraline was gone for good. Did he lie to her? No, he couldn't, he wouldn't. Beth began to think that something might have happened after the Andrew's case that she didn't know of. Mick had been so strange the last few days. She suddenly felt sad, her heart getting heavier. Maybe it was the reason why he had been so severe against her the last time she had seen him. She was angry at herself, beeing so selfish.

Coraline had been back in Mick's life and Beth understood only then why. Mick wasn't happy to see her back as she had thought. He was concerned and scared for her, not because he loved Coraline. She was back for Mick. After all, Josef had told her so "if Coraline is back, and that's a big 'if', then she's back for Mick."

Beth was really sad and scared. Things went clearer in her mind. All was part of her mad plan. Coraline had been nice to her as Morgan Vincent, because she wanted to change Mick's opinion about her. She had given him the cure, hoping that he would think that she was letting him being happy with another woman. And when he had been returned by Josef, Coraline was back again, making a web like a dark spider around them, only to take Mick back. A tear fell on her cheek. Beth understood that she was going to die, alone.

* * *

He was typing fast on his keyboard, feeling that it was urgent and that a life depended on him. He knew that Mick was looking at him, following all the research, hoping that they would find Coraline. It was several hours later and Logan feared to tell his friend that he had nothing. This vampiress was very good to hide and he couldn't find anything, not even a dead drained cat. There was nothing on her since the last time Mick had seen her in the playground. He had found that she had contact with the ADA, but since the case was closed, she hadn't seen him. There was nothing, not a little thing, and he had to tell Mick the bad news.

Mick was standing behind Logan trying to understand the words on his screens, but it was codes he couldn't understand. There was one thing he knew, after all those hours, Logan had shown nothing significative. He saw him stopping his research and looking at him. He was still hoping that something could help him to find Beth. But as she used to tell him "Vampires make very bad liars." He could indeed see it in front of him that Logan was trying to show him hope.

"So?"

"I'm afraid she's very good to hide. I found nothing man. I'm sorry."

"Nothing? Really?"

"Yes.. nothing."

Mick took out from his pocket some cash to pay Logan.

"No man, keep it, it's okay. I made it for her. I kind of like her."

Mick couldn't say if he was happy or surprised, or both, to hear Logan, a vampire, saying that of the human he deeply loved.

"Thanks man."

"You're welcome and I'll keep searching! If I find something, I call you."

"okay."

Mick went to his car, without knowing how he could find Beth in time. He sat in the mercedes and started it. The motor rumbled like it never did before; was it his mood or the grey sky outside getting darker as the day became slowly evening, that gave him this feeling that the car was as dark as his mind? He had to do the same things as what he was doing on a ordinary case. He took a deep breath and began to think; he had to begin from the beginning… where he had meet Coraline for the first time… the villa! He put his foot on the accelerator and drove directly to her party house.

As he drove to Hollywood, on the hills, he could see the villa coming closer. Finaly he parked the car in front of the translucide house. Memories were coming out from darkness. _His breath touching the glass, he sees her going far from him, in her dark gown, making fun of him… the chair beside him… the glass breaking… Coraline standing in front of him smiling…_

This house was nothing good anymore for him, just memories from a time when he was human and then vampire. He walked slowly trying not to be disturbed by his dark thoughts. As he approached the place, he discovered a ruin. His heart suddenly beat very fast, the veins pumping hard in his throat which began to be dry. He was scared for what he could find inside. His legs were heavy and difficult to move. The walls were exploded and inside everything was destroyed. He couldn't come inside, he wasn't prepared to find her dead, he didn't want to find her dead.

For the first time, Mick understood that Beth could die. Everytime he had been not too far to help her, but this time he wasn't with her. He had thrown her away and because of him, she was in danger. Beth was with Coraline, alone. The two times she had seen Coraline, Mick was near enough to protect her. Not this time. Even on Andrew's case, he was there to protect her. Not this time. Beth was alone, Coraline was angry, despaired and ready to kill the only one who had given him back his smile. Finding her dead body was no longer a fear, but a reality.

Instead of walking in the ruin, Mick stopped his heavy body and closed his eyes. He tried not to listen to the fast rhythm of his heart and smelled the air. He could feel many dark feelings that disturbed him. There were vampire's scents too but they were too difficult to recognize because of the atmosphere of the destroyed place. Coraline's anger was all over the house. But as surprising as it could be, he couldn't feel Beth, she wasn't there.

A big relief came to Mick; she wasn't there, but he worries came back as fast as they were gone. She was somewhere else and he didn't know where. She was in Coraline's power in a place he didn't know. He went back to his car thinking hard of Beth. As he reached the mercedes, a flash shoot his mind.

Darkness, a lantern piercing it. A little way made of stones. Silence, his breathing breaking it. A door. He opens it slowly. A little girl, alone, scared, looking at him, her heart beating fast… Flames, screaming, pain.

He opened his eyes and there it was. He had his answer. He knew.

Mick started up the mercedes and drove fast out of the place. A car was staying parked near the road, the man inside watching the mercedes passing aside. The car started and as it followed the first one, the man dialed a number.

"Yes?"

"Sir, I'm following his car."

"You found him? How?"

"I asked Chris to find him thanks to his car's number and his cellphone."

"Good job! Where is he going?"

"I think I recognize the road, sir. We drove it 23 years ago."

"Okay, I'm on my way. See you there."

* * *

It was evening and she was ready to put an end to this nightmare. She walked in the night to the house, the one that had been the source of so many hopes. She had done everything possible to have him back, to make him happy, as happy as she was when he was with her. But those hopes had burned that night, as the house did. Now she was back there to finish everything.

Taking her back there was a part of the rituel. She had to do everything like she had done that night. This time he couldn't find her. No, he wasn't part of the rituel this time. He hadn't understood why she was doing that. So it would be only her and the human. She had to finish what she had began and then finaly have him for herself.

She opened the door, holding a lantern exactly like that night. The place was different this time; the flames had eaten a good part and the walls were dark, black. And there she was, sitting on the floor, waiting for her, waiting for her destiny.

Beth saw the door opening and lifted her face to see her executioner come in. She couldn't believe what she was seeing in front of her. It had to be her imagination, but as she saw Coraline moving, smiling differently from the time she had taken her, she understood that it was reality. The vampiress walked in the room holding her lantern, wearing the same white gown she had that very night; only this time, there was a hole under her breast.

Coraline walked toward Beth, who looked at her with eyes she hadn't seen in 23 years. It was time, she was ready to finish her work. She felt that Beth knew it too.

"There we are Beth. Back to the beginning."

Beth said nothing, she just looked at Coraline, moving like when she was only four.

"You know why you're here, right? don't answer. You don't need to."

The white ghost was walking in the house like if she discovered the place.

"Mick has been turned and Josef is his sire now. I lost my Mick, he's no longer mine. I lost the only one I loved and I'm all alone."

Beth saw her talking, she wasn't really talking to Beth, but most to herself.

"You know Mick and I have always had a special bond between us. The turning made it stronger. This bond began to be thinner with time and I had only my blood in his that kept him mine. Now he doesn't have my blood in his veins and we have nothing that keep us together."

Coraline took a break. Beth could see that Coraline was sad and hurt. It gave her a new picture of that woman who had kidnapped her twice. She discovered a simple woman deeply in love, madly in love with a man. Pity flew in Beth's body and Coraline felt it. She turned to look at Beth and smiled.

"I know he doesn't forgive me for what I did to him, but when I gave him the cure, I could see in his eyes that he was in peace with himself and with me. It felt good. But do you know why, Beth? He was in peace, because he had you. I hate saying that, but this the first thing I saw in his eyes, when I was at Buzzwire. He loves you, he's happy with you."

Beth felt her heart beating fast as she heard those words. She wanted him so much, but he wasn't there and he didn't know where she was. Her throat was beginning to wring.

"Oh don't flatter yourself Beth. He doesn't love you for who you are. No, he loves you for what you are, a human. When I was human, he showed more interests than when I was vampire. Do you remember the night you staked me? Well, I can tell you now, that if you weren't knocking at the door, Mick would have done more than only kissing me. He was happy to see me back and human."

Beth felt anger and the blood was running to her cheek.

"He wasn't happy to see you back. He was only interested to know how you became human again!"

As the words flew outside her mouth, Beth regretted instantly what she had said. Coraline heard them and they hit directly her heart. She flew to Beth and showed her fangs. Beth shivered and hid her face in her arms, scared to be bitten. But Coraline stopped from some inches, so Beth could feel her breath on her skin. She raised, stood in front of her and walked to the opposite place.

"You know, I told Mick that love can't exist without mortality, I really believe it. And now I will show him that I'm right."

It was now time to do what she had waited so long to finish. She looked at Beth and smiled. The human was afraid and felt that what she feared was going to happen.

"I love that word: mortality. It means so many things: life, love and death."

Coraline went closer to the scared woman. Beth's heart was beating fast, she knew that Coraline was now going to take all her blood. Her whole body was tensed. Her thoughts went to Mick and the first time she had seen him standing beside his car looking at her, with a tender look. It was now the end.

"Well, sweet human, I will take your mortality."

Coraline kneeled next to Beth, caressing her blond hair. "Ssh, don't be scared, I won't hurt you." She released the hair from the neck and pushed Beth's head on the opposite side, revealing the tensed neck. Beth breathed very fast, feeling that it was her last seconds of life and suddenly felt the vampiress' lips on her skin.

* * *

The tires screeched on the road as Mick stopped the car. He never could have thought that one day he would come back to that horrible place. As he went out of the car, he realised that Coraline must have been really shocked and disturbed to take Beth to the same place than 23 years ago. It would be difficult to stop her, but he hadn't time to think of what to do.

He went to the little way that lead to the house. His heart was beating fast; he was nervous but he still had hope to find Beth still alive. The night gave the place a darker view. He tried to smell the air and he recognized the same scents of despair and anger as at the party house. But suddenly he felt it, her sweet human scent. Beth was there, he was sure of it. Her scent, usually so tender and soft was now mixed with a bitter scent of fear and sadness. It broke his heart and gave him energy to fight for her.

The house appeared in front of him. It was a terrible view, the house was burnt, dark and it was almost impossible to see it in the night. He could distinguish small lights and understood that they were both there.

This time his body wasn't heavy, but ready to do everything possible to save Beth. He walked fast to the door, half burnt. He pushed it and as he walked in he saw his worst nightmare in front of him. Coraline was sitting on the floor, her back turned to Mick, but holding someone in her arms, her head down. His heart was jumping in his chest, in his throat.

Coraline turned her head; her eyes were ice-blue and her fangs out. She licked the drops of blood in the corner of her mouth. Then he saw it; he saw Beth's inconscious body falling slowly from her arms down to the floor. The walls around him began to turn fast, his head was turning heavy. His eyes filled with tears.

Coraline stood up next to the body, inanimate, lying on the floor. She was looking at him, surprised but happy.

Mick ran to Beth and took her body in his arms. She was inanimate, heavy. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open. He could see on the features of her face, that she had been scared and terribly sad. He tried to move her, hoping that she would wake up, that she was still alive. But he couldn't hear any heart beating. Beth was dead.

He pulled her body on his chest and huddled her against him. Her scent was all over him and then he realised that it was too late, he had lost her. All the sadness overcame him and squeezed his throat. The tears were silently falling on his cheeks. He lowered his head and smelled her hair.

Coraline was standing next to Mick holding Beth tight against him. She could feel all his feelings and didn't understand his sadness. She was the one who was sad and despaired. She had lost him in two ways: she had lost his love and her fledgling. How couldn't he understand that she had to do it? It was the only way to make him understand what it was like to love as a vampire. She leant over him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mick, I had to do it."

Mick felt her hand and rage burst in him. He groaned at her ferocely.

"Don't touch me! Don't you dare touch me anymore!"

"Mick, listen to me."

"HOW COULD YOU!"

Anger and rage burned him. He saw her over him with this tender look she always had when she was talking to him. But she was gone too far, she had murdered someone, she had killed Beth, his Beth. He was going to stand up and cut her head off, when suddenly they heard steps coming in the house.

"Don't do it Mick. Stay with Beth. I am the one who has to stop her."

Josef was standing at the door. His face was severe as he saw the horrible picture in front of him. He understood that Mick had come too late to save Beth. The view of the inanimate body made him really sad, he liked her. She had changed so many things in Mick's life without noticing it. Now everything was gone, because of the one he had saved 23 years ago. He had thought then that she would understand that it was best for her to stand far from him. She had promised him never come back. She was heartbroken, because her husband had tried to kill her. But she had come to L.A as a human, when she had seen that he was happy with another woman, a human. Josef had tried to stop her, but she didn't want to listen to him. He had done the same mistake a second time when he had saved her in France. Coraline had come directly back to L.A and made worse things. He was the only one who really could stop her, and there was only one way to do it.

"Coraline, leave him alone. Don't you see that he doesn't love you? Don't you see the horrible thing you've just done?"

"It has nothing to do with you Josef! You may be his sire, but it's between Mick and I."

"No it isn't and it never was. I am the one who brought you back everytime he tried to stop you. Now, I'll be the one who will do it."

"Ah ah. Really? How?"

"You will come with me. Henri is waiting outside and will take you back to your family."

"What? Henri is here? How could you!"

"Come with me Coraline. Leave Mick alone. You've done enough, you destroyed everything in his life."

"I won't come with you, nor with Henri."

"Oh I assure you that you will!"

Coraline showed her fangs and groaned. She hadn't expected Josef and Henri there. She didn't want her brother to know the things she had done there in the past. She looked at Mick. He was silently crying, still holding Beth in his arms. She moved her hand to touch his hair.

Josef saw the vampiress standing next to her victims. She was looking at them and lifted a hand toward Mick.

"Don't touch him."

Coraline's hand stopped in the air over Mick's hair. She turned her face to Josef with her white eyes.

"Isn't it enough that you turned him?"

"I didn't have a choice, Coraline. It wasn't on purpose."

Coraline made a step toward Josef.

"You stole the only thing that mattered to me!"

"Coraline, he asked me to turn him. I'm sorry."

"No you aren't. Now leave us, I have to talk to Mick."

"I won't let you with him. Come with me and your brother."

Coraline showed her fangs in protest and turned to Mick. Josef jumped in vampire speed and grabbed her in surprise. Their bodies hit the burnt wall, which broke under their forces and their weight. Coraline lay on the floor with Josef on her. They were liying in the garden. The sky was dark, night was surrounding them. She groaned and tried to push him back but he was stronger than her. He was determined to stop her.

"I ask you one more time; come with me to your brother."

She spit on his face: "Never!"

With his surprise, she used his loss of attention to push him back. She ran to Mick, still holding Beth not even noticing what was happening, lost in his sadness. Josef saw her and jumped to her. She fell on her stomach, face down. He turned her so she could see his face, sitting on her to hold her on the ground. Behind him, the stars and the moon were shining. Coraline had always loved the night and the wonderful picture of the sky. There was something magical with it; even if it was dark, something gave her hope. Was it the stars brighting, giving the picture that they were smiling? Or the moon, this tender moon that gave the feeling of security?

Josef saw her face; her eyes were lost in something he couldn't reach. She always had had this expression on her face, that she was somewhere else, a place where she was happy and free.

"I will never go back there Josef. Never."

He knew that, and as he closed his eyes as a answer, he took out from his jacket a syringe. The silver liquid was shining in the night. With his left hand, Josef hold Coraline's, as his right drove the syringe to her heart. He drove it into the broken organ beating with sadness and pain for centuries.

Coraline looked at Josef with her eyes full of tears. She knew what he was going to do. In a way she had always known that he would be the one to stop her. She felt the needle piercing her flesh and going to her heart. She looked at him and whispered:

"I'm sorry. I just loved him so deeply."

Here eyes were looking at the stars, the same peaceful sky than the night she was droven for the first time to Fontainebleau. And as the liquid filled the life's pump and joined all the veins in her body, her eyes became silver.

Josef saw life leaving her body slowly. Her face was peaceful and as the liquid filled her eyes, he couldn't stop himself crying. He took out of her heart the mortal syringe and replaced it in his pocket.

He slowly raised, his eyes on Coraline's dead body. She was peaceful on the ground, in the night. He turned his head and saw Mick still holding tight Beth. He was sad to see that his friend was completely lost in his sadness, not even noticing the death of his wife. But maybe it was for the best. Then he was surprised by the figure of someone in the door's frame. It was Henri.

Henri was looking at Mick holding Beth's body. He understood what his sister had done. Scents were everywhere and they surrounded the french vampire, which made him realise the horror of what had just happened there. His eyes were caught by Josef moving in the backyard. He moved towards him and discovered the sad body of his sister lying on the grass. His heart beat very fast and sadness overcame him.

He walked directly to the dead body and saw her face. He was surprised to see that she seemed happy. For the first time in centuries he could distinguish a little smile on her face. He kneeled next to her and caressed her hair. Tears fell slowly on his cheek. His beloved sister, the one who had turned him centuries ago, was gone forever.

Josef saw Henri crying. "I'm sorry Henri, but I didn't have choice."

"I know. She wouldn't live without him anyway."

Henri placed his arms around Coraline's shoulder and sat her. He put one arm under her head which was falling on the side. This image was broking Josef's heart. The other arm went under her legs, and Henri lifted her as he raised. He went slowly to the door, holding his dead sister. His steps were silent but heavy. Josef could feel the weight of his grief and he followed them slowly.

As Henri walked next to Mick, he lifted his face and discovered the man holding Coraline in his arms. He was still holding tight Beth and then saw Josef, following them, his face completely broken. Josef stopped as he reached Mick and Henri did the same. He turned to Mick and looked at him, then Beth.

"I'm sorry for what my sister did to you and your friend. I didn't know all she had done to you. The only thing I know and I'm sure of it, is that she loved you deeply. Her problem was that she didn't understand men, or knew them too much. You were the only one who didn't use her."

Josef looked at Henri and said: "Do you want me to help you?"

"No thank you. I'll have everything I need. She will be back home, to her family. This will be her last trip, back to France."

As he said those few words, he went slowly outside the house. Josef stood next to his friend and looked at Beth. Mick finally let Beth's body lying on the floor and he raised in front of Josef. His face was completely marked by the tears and his pain.

"What happened to Coraline?"

"I had to do it, Mick. She was completely lost in her despair. She let me kill her. I'm so sorry."

"She killed Beth."

"I know, it's horrible. I tried to find her too, Mick. But I came too late."

"It's my fault, I pushed her away. I saw her crying when she left my apartment! I didn't tell her how much I love her! It's my fault Josef!"

As Mick was talking to Josef, he saw something strange happening.

"Mick-

-I couldn't protect her-

-Mick!

-I failed, I wasn't there when she needed me-

-MICK!"

Mick suddenly fell quiet and starred at Josef shocked who was looking at Beth. Mick turned his eyes and saw her face. Her eyes were open, ice-blue and her mouth showing off her fangs.

* * *

_Two days later_

ADA Talbot walked in his office, it was early in the morning and like every morning, he was the first coming in the building. When he came to his desk, he took directly the report of the Rachel Andrew's case. Even if it was over, Talbot had still questions about how Mick St John and Beth Turner had found this woman and especially the baby. Their story wasn't clear, many things remained vague. How did they found out that she was the woman taking babies? Where was she? And why did she leave the baby alone in the house after all those kidnappings? Why stop just after this one?

Talbot knew that they were hiding things from him; he didn't like this P.I, he had something strange in his way to do his job. The worst part in it, was that he couldn't understand that Beth Turner was hanging out with this man. She seemed to be an intelligent woman, so Talbot couldn't understand that she was following a man with such unsual ways to work.

After the case involving the death of Beth's boss, Talbot had begun to have suspiscions about Mick. This man was hiding something, Talbot could feel it, and he had often good premonitions.

As he was reading Mick's rapport, the young postman came to his office, sat the mails on his desk and left the place. Talbot didn't look at it first, but he saw, in the corner of his eyes, a dark green envelopp on the top of the pile. He looked at it and saw that there was only his name but no stamples. He took it and opened it. There were ten white pages with names on it:

Anthoni Gambino, Luke Minco, Virginia Dare, Guillermo Gasol, Josef Konstan and Mick St John.

Mick St John? Talbot's heart jumped. What was this list and what did it mean? All those names, some of them rich, other were normal people. But Mick St John? What was he doing there?

Talbot was lost in his questions when his phone rang:

"Talbot.

-Files for your eyes only. We'll stay in touch.

-Who is this?"

But the only answer he got was the bip of the phone. What was that list? and why was it send to him?

Talbot was lost in all his questions and it was only the beginning of the day… He decided to open a drawer from his desk, took a new case file and wrote on it Mick St John's name.

* * *

The man put the phone back.

"Father it's done."

"Well done Lancelot."

Richelieu sat in the middle of the same table where he was when he had judged Coraline, but this time, Henri was sitting on this chair, in front of all his brothers.

_FIN_


End file.
